Send one Christmas email to everyone in the first week of October. Say which days you're open or closed, how many days of leave to keep back, the deadline for requests (we use the end of October), how many can be off at once and who to call in an emergency. In Malta, mention that Republic Day is on a Sunday, so everyone has an extra day of leave in 2026.
The Christmas plan email (copy and paste)
This is the big one. Send it in the first week of October and it does most of the work for the whole of December. It's written for a business that closes between Christmas and New Year. If you're staying open, use the opening hours version further down.
Hi all,
Here's the plan for Christmas so nobody's guessing.
We're open as normal until [1pm on Thursday 24 December] and we're back on [Monday 4 January].
Christmas Day and New Year's Day are public holidays and don't come out of your leave. The days in between ([28 to 31 December]) will, so please keep [4.5] days back for them. If that's going to be a problem for you, come and talk to me before [30 October].
Republic Day falls on a Sunday this year, so everyone gets an extra day of leave for 2026. Feel free to use it over Christmas.
If you want any other time off in December, please get it booked by [30 October]. We can have [2] people off in each team on any one day and it's first come, first served. If two requests come in together, whoever worked last Christmas gets first pick.
Anything urgent while we're closed, ring [name] on [number].
Any questions, just ask.
[Your name]
That line in the email only works if someone's keeping track. In Book Time Off you set a max absent limit per department and requests over it are blocked at booking, so the rule enforces itself. Malta's public holidays are already on the calendar too, so nobody books Christmas Day as leave.
→ Start free trialChristmas closure email to staff
For when you're closing and want people to use leave for it. In Malta you can use up to 12 working days of someone's leave a year for shutdowns, but DIER's guidance is to announce them by the end of January and you need to give a written reason. If you didn't announce it in January, word it as an ask, like this one.
Hi all,
We're planning to close for Christmas from [1pm on Thursday 24 December] until [Sunday 3 January], and we're back on [Monday 4 January].
The reason is simple: [it's our quietest week of the year and our customers are closed too], so it makes more sense for everyone to have a proper break at the same time.
Christmas Day and New Year's Day are public holidays. The other working days ([Christmas Eve afternoon and 28 to 31 December]) would come out of your leave, which is [4.5] days for a full-timer, less if you're part-time.
If this causes you a problem, whether that's family plans or not having enough leave left, please tell me before [30 October] and we'll sort something out.
Thanks, and I hope you all get a proper rest.
[Your name]
Christmas opening hours email to staff
For when you're staying open or running a skeleton crew. The thing everyone wants to know is "am I working on the 29th?", so we answer that as near the top as we can.
Hi all,
Here are our Christmas opening hours and who's in when.
- Thursday 24 December: [9am to 1pm]
- Friday 25 December: closed (Christmas Day)
- Monday 28 to Thursday 31 December: [normal hours]
- Friday 1 January: closed (New Year's Day)
The rota is [attached / on the noticeboard]. If you're down to work a day you'd booked off, or you'd like to swap, tell me by [date].
We can have [2] people off in each team on any one day between Christmas and New Year, first come, first served. Please get any requests in by [30 October].
Thanks to everyone who's working over Christmas. It's noticed.
[Your name]
Back in January email
Short and simple. Send it on your last day before Christmas, or first thing when you reopen.
Hi all,
Just a reminder that we're back on [Monday 4 January] at [the usual time].
Your 2027 leave starts on 1 January. If you're carrying any days over from 2026, remember you agreed to use them during 2027, so it's worth getting them booked early.
Thanks for a great year. Have a lovely Christmas.
[Your name]
Where should staff send their requests?
One place. Whatever the email says, it falls apart if requests arrive by text, by WhatsApp, on a Post-it and in passing by the coffee machine. We've had a request agreed in passing and then forgotten, and only found out when two people turned out to be off on the same day. Our annual leave request form for Malta is a good start if you'd like everything in writing.
With Book Time Off staff book from their phone and you approve or decline straight from the email in one click, no login needed. Forget to answer? You get a reminder the next working day and a final one a few days later. And if you're closing, you can group-book the closure for the whole team in one go, so everyone's balance is right without you touching it person by person.
→ Start free trialChristmas emails to staff (Word template, Malta)
All four emails in one editable Word document, written for Maltese rules. Swap the blue bits for your own dates and details, read the notes and send.
- The Christmas plan email
- Closure email, written around the 12-day shutdown rule
- Opening hours and rota version
- Back in January, with a carry-over reminder
- A short Christmas paragraph for your handbook
The legal bit, if you need it
You don't need this to get Christmas sorted, but here's what the rules actually say if anyone asks.
- Shutdowns: unless a collective agreement says otherwise, at most 12 working days' worth of an employee's annual leave a year can be used for shutdowns, including bridge holidays, and forced leave needs a written statement justifying it within a reasonable time before it starts (DIER).
- DIER's guidance is that shutdowns are announced to all employees by the end of January each year (DIER).
- Public holidays on a weekend add an equivalent day to that year's leave, which is why 2026 leave is 216 hours for a 40-hour week (DIER).
- Carry-over is up to 50% of the entitlement, by agreement, used the following year (DIER).
Sources
| DIER | Vacation leave · Shutdowns, forced leave and carry-over. Checked October 2026. |
| DIER | Vacation leave (Maltese) · Announcing shutdowns by the end of January. Checked October 2026. |
| DIER | Public holiday entitlements · Checked October 2026. |
FAQs
This is practical, general information for employers in Malta. If you've got a dispute brewing or something unusual in a contract or sector order, check with DIER or an employment lawyer.