MALTA Law and Practice Contributed by: Paul Gonzi, Rebecca Diacono and Mattea Pullicino, Fenech & Fenech Advocates
in respect of the notice period. Should the employer fail to give the required notice to an employee being made redundant, the employer shall be liable to pay the employee a sum equal to the full wages that would have been payable in respect of the notice period. Maltese law does not require employers to pay any severance pay over and above the wages cover - ing the relevant notice period. Generally, severance pay is only rewarded if the employer gives enhanced payments or wishes to have a settlement agreement signed. 7.3 Dismissal for (Serious) Cause Summary dismissal is a form of dismissal whereby the employee is dismissed due to grave misconduct. Although summary dismissals do occur in practice, the courts have held that such dismissals are the exception, not the norm, and that the employer must have good and sufficient cause, which is gross and thus warrants a dismissal rather than a mere warning. The law does not establish any specific procedure that must necessarily be followed; however, the tri - bunal generally wants to see that an employee was given the opportunity to defend themselves and have a fair hearing. In recent years, the Court of Appeal has directed the tribunal not to award compensation to employees if such a procedure was not applied, in so far as there was genuinely good and sufficient cause warranting a dismissal. In such cases where the employer dismisses the employee summarily, the employer is not required to give the employee advance notice of termination or payment for such notice. An employee who feels aggrieved by the dismissal has four months within which to file a claim before the Industrial Tribunal. Both parties would then have the right to be represented before the Tribunal and to present their evidence and bring any relevant wit - nesses forward to testify. Should the employer fail to prove that the dismissal was based on good and sufficient cause, the Indus - trial Tribunal may either order reinstatement and/or award monetary compensation. Employees holding
a managerial or executive post are not typically rein - stated, but are provided with monetary compensation should the dismissal be deemed unfair by the Indus - trial Tribunal. 7.4 Termination Agreements Termination agreements are not regulated under Mal - tese law, although parties may agree to terminate the employment relationship by mutual agreement and/ or to settle disputes. In this case, general principles of contract law would apply, as well as the rules on compromise agreements. 7.5 Protected Categories of Employee Maltese law seeks to protect specific groups of employees from dismissal. This protection applies to terminations connected with individuals who are pregnant or on maternity leave, individuals availing themselves of parental leave, and individuals who are dismissed due to the fact that they are members of a trade union or involved in the activities of a trade union, among others. The law also explicitly prohibits the termination of employment of an employee on injury leave. A termination may also be deemed unfair, despite there being good and sufficient cause, if the termina - tion is deemed to be discriminatory. Maltese law contemplates the possibility for employ - ees to claim “unfair dismissal”, which would be termi - nation without just cause, or which is discriminatory, or in cases of early termination of fixed-term contracts. The burden to prove that the termination was lawful rests with the employer. Although not expressly regu - lated by law, the tribunals and courts also recognise the concept of constructive dismissal, whereby the employee would resign in protest and claim compen - sation for having been forced to abandon the employ - ment; in such cases, the burden of proof would be on the employee. 8. Disputes 8.1 Wrongful Dismissal
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