Set a deadline for Christmas leave requests (the end of October works for us), decide how many people can be off on any one day, deal with requests first come, first served up to that limit and put the whole plan in one email. If you're closing, remember Malta caps how much of someone's leave you can use for shutdowns at 12 working days a year, and you need to give a written reason in good time.
When should staff ask for Christmas leave?
Earlier than feels natural. We set the deadline for Christmas requests at the end of October and send the Christmas email in the first week of October, so people have a few weeks to talk to their families and get their requests in.
Anything booked before the deadline goes through the normal way. Anything after it is still fine if there's room, it just doesn't jump the queue. That one line stops the "but I always have that week" conversation in mid-December, because everyone knew the date.
This year the dates help you. Christmas Day and New Year's Day are both Fridays, so the same four days (28 to 31 December) are what everybody's going to want. Better to know that in October than discover it on 20 December. All the dates are in our Christmas public holidays in Malta 2026 guide.
How many people can be off at once?
Decide this before the first request comes in, not after. Go team by team and ask yourself: what's the smallest number of people who can keep this going on 29 December? Whatever's left is how many can be off.
We've had three people ask for the same days between Christmas and New Year within about a week of each other. We couldn't let all three go. The conversation with the one who missed out was awkward, mainly because there wasn't a rule - it felt like we were picking favourites. Once there was a clear rule that everyone knew up front, that conversation basically stopped happening.
For a team of five, "two off at once" is usually about right. For a one-person role (the only person who does payroll, say), it's about cover, not numbers: who picks up their urgent stuff if they're away?
In Book Time Off you set a max absent limit for each department. Once that many people are booked on a day, the next request is blocked at the booking stage, so you're never the one saying "sorry, someone beat you to it". An admin can still override it for the odd genuine exception. It's first come, first served without anyone keeping score in a spreadsheet.
→ Start free trialCan I close over Christmas and make staff use their leave?
Yes, but Malta puts a limit on it that's worth knowing. Unless a collective agreement says otherwise, an employer can only use up to 12 working days' worth of an employee's annual leave each year for shutdowns of any kind, and that includes closing for bridge days. If you make someone take leave, you have to give them a written statement explaining why, in good time before the leave starts.
DIER's guidance also says shutdowns should be made known to staff by the end of January each year. So for next year, put your Christmas closure in your January announcement. For this Christmas, if you didn't, our advice is to agree the closure days with your team rather than impose them. Most people are happy to save leave for the days between Christmas and New Year anyway. Just ask early.
| If you close | Public holidays inside it | Leave each full-timer uses |
|---|---|---|
| Fri 25 Dec to Sun 3 Jan | 25 December, 1 January | 4 days (28 to 31 December) |
| Thu 24 Dec to Sun 3 Jan | 25 December, 1 January | 5 days (24, 28 to 31 December) |
| Sat 19 Dec to Sun 3 Jan | 25 December, 1 January | 8 days (21 to 24, 28 to 31 December) |
Tell people how many days to keep back as early as you can. We've had staff realise in December that they'd used more leave earlier in the year than they thought, and didn't have enough left for the days we were closed. That's not fun for anyone. Remember too that everyone's 2026 leave is 27 days this year (216 hours for a full-timer), because three public holidays fell on a weekend.
Who gets the days when everyone wants them?
We use first come, first served up to the limit, with one tie-break: if two requests land at the same time, whoever worked last Christmas gets first pick. It's simple, everybody understands it and nobody has to make a judgement call about whose reason is better.
The rules we'd steer clear of are the ones that feel kind but aren't fair, like "parents get priority". It leaves people without children covering every year, and it's exactly the kind of rule that ends in a grievance. If someone has a genuine family situation, talk to them about it on its own. Just don't build it into the rule.
The end-of-year leave pile-up
In Malta the leave year is the calendar year, so 31 December is the day the music stops. You can let people carry up to half of their year's leave into the next year if you both agree, but it has to be used during that next year and can't roll over again. It's not an automatic right, and "carry it all over" isn't an option.
The fix is boring but it works: look at everyone's balance in October, when you send the Christmas email. Anyone with a pile of days left gets a friendly nudge to book them in November or early December, before Christmas week fills up.
Book Time Off shows everyone's days used and days remaining at a glance, so you can spot who's sitting on a pile of leave while there's still time to do something about it. You can set a company-wide carry-forward limit and an optional use-by date, and carried days that aren't used in time drop off automatically, with the loss recorded. It won't make people book their leave, sadly. But nobody gets a surprise in December.
→ Start free trialApproving requests without the paper chase
Whatever you use, the rule is that every request goes in one place. Not a note on your desk, a WhatsApp, a word in the corridor. We've had a request come in on a Post-it, get agreed in passing and then completely forgotten about. We only found out when two people turned out to be off on the same day.
A shared calendar or our free leave tracker spreadsheet does the job for a small team, as long as you're strict about it. There's also our annual leave request form for Malta if you'd like requests in writing.
In Book Time Off staff request leave from their phone and you get an email with Approve and Decline buttons. One click and it's done, no login needed. If a request sits there, you get a reminder the next working day and a final one a few days later, so nothing gets lost in the run-up to Christmas. Everyone sees the decision straight away, and the calendar updates itself.
→ Start free trialThe email to send (copy and paste)
Send this in the first week of October. Change the bits in brackets.
Hi all,
Here's the plan for Christmas so nobody's guessing.
We're open as normal until [Thursday 24 December at 1pm] 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 a problem, come and talk to me before [30 October].
Don't forget Republic Day is on a Sunday this year, so everyone's got an extra day of leave for 2026.
If you want any other time off in December, get it booked by [30 October]. We can have [2] people off in each team on any day, first come, first served.
Anything urgent while we're closed, ring [name] on [number].
[Your name]
There are more versions (staying open, the deadline reminder, back in January) in our Christmas email to staff templates, with a free Word download.
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, an employer can use at most 12 working days' worth of an employee's annual leave each year for shutdowns, including bridge holidays, and must give a written statement justifying forced leave within a reasonable time before it starts (DIER).
- DIER's guidance says any shutdown, including closing for bridge holidays, should be brought to all employees' attention by the end of January each calendar year (DIER).
- Carry-over: up to 50% of the annual entitlement can be carried into the next year if the employer agrees. It has to be used in that year (DIER, S.L. 452.87).
- Leave for 2026 is 216 hours for a 40-hour week, because three public holidays fall on a weekend (DIER).
Sources
| DIER | Vacation leave · Shutdowns, forced leave and carry-over. Checked October 2026. |
| DIER | Vacation leave (Maltese) · Telling staff about shutdowns by the end of January. Checked October 2026. |
| DIER | Public holiday entitlements · Checked October 2026. |
| Laws of Malta | Organisation of Working Time Regulations, S.L. 452.87 · 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.