Employers who cannot afford to top up their workers’ pay with the amount due, over and above the guaranteed €800 being offered under the COVID-19 aid package, must first seek the authorisation of the Department of Employment and Industrial Relations.

The clarification was made in a video conference in which minister Carmelo Abela outlined the manner in which this measure, rolled out last week, would be implemented.

According to the aid package, companies within certain economic sectors which have been identified as having been hit hard by the slowdown triggered by the outbreak are eligible for financial aid, in a bid to prevent layoffs.

The government will be subsidising the first €800 of the workers’ monthly salary with the employer being expected to cover the rest of the amount. It was also agreed that if the salary exceeds €1,200 a month, employers must cover at least €400, while being urged to top up an even higher amount if possible.

However, Minister Abela conceded that there might be circumstances in which the employer might not be in a position to cover the minimum €400 top-up for employees having a salary of €1,200 or higher.

In this case, employers must first contact the Department to “find a solution”. He warned that employers trying to abuse the system by falsely declaring they had no means to pay the top-up or all of it, would be investigated by the department. 

Employees benefitting from this aid would still receive their salary from the employer who in turn would be compensated by the government.

Any queries should be made to the department on the two dedicated lines:

1575 for workers and 1576 for employers, or else by email on info.dier@gov.mt.

The DIER has also put together a series of answers to some frequently asked questions about the measure. The FAQ is available online.

Minister Abela said that since the first case on March 9, the department had received almost 6,000 requests for information.