With effect from 27th August 2025, employers in Malta will be required to comply with a new set of obligations surrounding pay transparency, covering both job applicants and existing employees.
These changes were introduced via Legal Notice 112 of 2025 which was published on 27th June 2025 and came into effect on 27th August 2025, amending the Transparent and Predictable Working Conditions Regulations. The DIER (Malta’s Department for Industrial and Employment Relations) has recently also issued a set of FAQs to provide further guidance on these rules.
A. Pay transparency rights for job applicants
Under the new rules, job applicants will have a right to receive information from their prospective employer about the initial pay, or the range, pegged to the position which they are applying for. Additionally, if a role is covered by a collective agreement, employers will also need to give job applicants the parts of the agreement that deal with pay.
In the FAQs issued by the DIER, the DIER have advised that job applicants will also be able to request a written breakdown of the wage structure related to the position being applied for, including fixed and variable pay components.
The above information will need to be given to job applicants before the start of their employment.
B. Pay transparency rights for existing employees
Current employees will also have new transparency rights, namely the right to request that their employer provides them with:
- their individual pay level; and
- the pay level for categories of workers performing the same work as them.
Employers will be obliged to provide such information within a maximum period of 2 months from the employee’s request.
The term “pay level” has been defined at law as referring to the gross annual pay and the corresponding gross hourly pay, and the DIER, via its FAQs, has clarified that “pay level” refers to the salary band or range linked to the role.
Key Takeaways
These changes mark Malta’s first step towards the implementation of the EU’s Pay Transparency Directive, which is aimed at reducing the gender pay gap across the EU, and which will need to be transposed into Maltese law by 7th June 2026.
Management and HR functions within companies should start working together to:
- review their current pay practices
- ensure that they are aware and complying with the above provisions which will come into force as from 27th August 2025, and
- begin preparing for the full implementation of the EU’s Pay Transparency Directive.
Clients are encouraged to follow the Ganado Employment space for ongoing updates, as the legal framework on equal pay continues to evolve.
The team at Ganado Advocates is available to assist companies with all legal support on the upcoming obligations, and on the various phases of the expected implementation of the Pay Transparency Directive in Malta.
