The Department of Industrial and Employment Relations (DIER) is a Maltese institution that seeks to protect the interest of parties in employment contracts while actively promoting a healthy employment relationship.
They trait various aspects of the Industrial and Employment Relations field, such as :
Conditions of Employment
Industrial Relations
International Relations
The main activities of the department on conditions of employment are :
Informe about the conditions of employment in various sectors of the Maltese economy
Regulating employment contracts equally to ensure rights and obligations pertaining to each party.
Taking necessary steps to assist the parties involved in employment relationship whose employment relationship has been terminated
To foster and promote good practices inline with existing employment legislation.
Regarding the Industrial Relations :
Facilitate a healthy relationship between employers associations and trade unions
Providing machinery for the voluntary settlement of trade disputes and promoting such settlement
And for the International Relations their activities are :
To coordinate closely primarily with the European Union and other International Labour Organisations as well as with government bodies which are involved in the employment and industrial relations field
To maintain contacts at the technical level with international bodies including the I.L.O (International Labour Organization) in regard to international obligations ratified by Malta in the field of labour
Contract of service (Contract of employment) :
A contract of service means an agreement, whether verbal or in writing, where a person binds him/herself to render service to, or to do work for, an employer in return of wages.
In those cases where no written contract has been signed, the employer is bound to give the employee a signed statement.
Breaching Conditions of employment
The worker can forward the complaint to the DIER if work conditions have not been observed.The complaint must be supported by documents.The Department will investigate and take the necessary measures. If the law has been breached, the employer concerned is contacted and the Department follows the situation.
Compensation in Lieu of Notice :
The Notice when given by the employee.
When it's the employee who abandons their job with no notice, he must pay to the employer a sum equal to half the wages that he would be payable of the period of notice that is not worked.
The Notice when given by the employer.
If he received a notice from the employer, the employee has the choice to continue to work during the notice period, or to request the employer to pay him a sum equal to half the wages that would be payable in respect of the unexpired period of notice.