Many Maltese workplaces, especially in the public sector and allied private firms, follow a seasonal timetable.
Staff add roughly forty five minutes to every winter working day so they can finish early during the long summer afternoons. While the arrangement is convenient for most employees, questions arise when someone leaves before benefitting from the shorter schedule.
This guide by our expert authors at Laws of Malta explains the legal framework, the common industry practice, and the steps both employees and employers should follow when extra hours have been worked but not yet balanced with time off.
📗 Why Seasonal Schedules Exist in Malta
📘 A Mediterranean tradition
Malta’s climate encourages businesses to shift activity away from the hottest hours between July and September.
The public service has observed half-day summer working since the nineteen sixties, with winter top up hours added to keep the annual total within statutory limits.
📘 Balancing annual working time
The Organisation of Working Time Regulations cap average hours at forty eight per week over a twelve month reference period.
Seasonal timetables are lawful provided the average remains inside that ceiling and all daily and weekly rest requirements are met.
📘 Breaks and rest periods
Each worker is entitled to an uninterrupted rest of eleven consecutive hours every day and a minimum of twenty four consecutive hours every seven day period, which may be aggregated into forty eight hours over two weeks.
📗 The Legal Framework for Additional Hours
📘 Employment and Industrial Relations Act
The Act (Cap 452) sets the overarching conditions of employment, confirming that any hours worked above the standard stated in the individual contract are either overtime or time in lieu and form part of the employee’s wage package.
📘 Overtime Regulations and pay rates
Where no Wage Regulation Order provides a different formula, each overtime hour must be paid at one point five times the normal rate. The multiplier applies equally to winter top up hours unless the parties agree in writing to exchange them for paid time off at a later date.
📘 Time off in lieu agreements
Time off in lieu, often called TOIL, allows employers to grant paid leave instead of cash.
The exchange is usually one hour leave for every hour worked, though some collective agreements improve on that ratio.
A valid TOIL clause must be transparent, recorded in writing, and accepted by the employee.
📗 Managing Seasonal Hours in Practice
📘 Winter accrual and summer credit
The most common model adds two hundred twenty five minutes of extra work to a five day winter week, which translates to around fifteen extra winter working days.
Those days are credited back through four hour summer afternoons off, typically from the first of July to the end of September.
📘 Record keeping obligations
Employers must maintain detailed logs showing daily start and finish times and all breaks.
The Transparent and Predictable Working Conditions Regulations introduced in twenty twenty two require the schedule and any overtime arrangements to be provided to workers in writing within seven days of starting employment.
📘 Monitoring the forty eight hour threshold
Even with seasonal fluctuations, the average weekly total across the reference year must not exceed forty eight hours unless a worker has completed a voluntary opt-in form.
The DIER can request timesheets at any moment to confirm compliance.
📗 Leaving Before the Summer Credit
📘 Accrued but unused TOIL
When employment ends, any extra hours already worked but not enjoyed as reduced summer time become payable in cash.
The Labour and Industrial Relations Act obliges the employer to settle outstanding wages, overtime, statutory bonuses, and leave on a proportional basis in the final payslip.
📘 Calculating the payment
To convert winter surplus hours into cash:
- Count the total minutes worked beyond the contractual daily schedule from the start of the accrual period to the final working day.
- Divide by sixty to obtain the number of overtime hours.
- Multiply by the appropriate overtime rate (normally one point five unless a contract sets a higher one).
- Add the figure to ordinary wages and any other entitlements for the notice period.
The calculation should appear on the payslip under a line item such as “Winter schedule overtime settlement”.
Overtime pay is treated as income and is subject to the usual tax deductions and social security contributions.
Employees should verify that the full gross amount is recorded for pension purposes.
📗 Practical Steps for Employees
📘 Review the contract and any collective agreement
Contracts sometimes include tailor-made seasonal clauses.
Check whether the wording states that unused winter surplus will be forfeited or paid out.
Maltese courts favour payment unless the clause is unmistakably clear and the employee expressly agreed.
📘 Keep your own log
Store emails, rosters, and clock-in reports showing the precise winter work pattern.
Independent records can accelerate a disagreement’s resolution if figures differ.
📘 Approach the employer early
Giving notice well ahead of the termination date helps payroll teams calculate the settlement accurately and avoids surprises on the last day. A written request for confirmation creates a clear paper trail.
📗 Guidance for Employers
📘 Draft a transparent policy
A concise seasonal hours policy should cover the accrual period, the method of calculating credit, the rate of pay on departure, and the procedure for disputes. This reduces ambiguity and litigation risk.
📘 Respect statutory limits
Even where staff request extra winter hours, employers must honour mandatory rest periods and the average weekly ceiling. Opt-in forms must be voluntary and recorded with DIER.
📘 Provide clear payslip information
Listing both the number of overtime hours and the rate applied satisfies the information duties under the Transparent and Predictable Working Conditions Regulations and assists employees in understanding their remuneration.
📗 Frequently Asked Questions
Any work that exceeds the normal hours stated in the individual contract or an applicable Wage Regulation Order is overtime, subject to the forty eight hour weekly average rule.
No. Time off in lieu must be agreed in writing and cannot be imposed. If there is no agreement the default position is payment in cash.
Many private employers imitate the civil service timetable, but the arrangement is voluntary and must still comply with the Working Time Regulations and any sectoral Wage Regulation Order
All wages and other entitlements must be paid on the next usual pay day following the date of termination, unless the contract stipulates an earlier settlement.
The first step is mediation through the Department for Industrial and Employment Relations. If unresolved, claims can proceed to the Industrial Tribunal, which has authority to order payment with interest.
Seasonal schedules provide a balanced way to enjoy Malta’s long summers without breaching working time laws, but they create specific obligations when an employee leaves before receiving the time credit.
Both sides should document arrangements thoroughly, observe statutory limits, and calculate settlements transparently.
By following the guidance in this article, employers and employees can ensure winter surplus hours are fairly compensated and potential disputes are avoided.
If you would like more information about DIER or would like to get in contact with them, check out our article about Employment Law in Malta.
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Last Updated on 1 August, 2026