Who this applies to
Statutory annual leave, which Malta's law calls vacation leave, is owed to everyone who works for you under a contract of employment. The two terms mean the same thing.
| Worker | Vacation leave owed? |
|---|---|
| Employees, full or part-time | Yes, in full (part-time pro-rata) |
| Irregular, zero-hours or averaged-hours staff | Yes, pro-rata over a rolling 17-week average |
| Agency and temporary staff | The agency runs their leave; you must treat them no less favourably than a direct hire from day one |
| Genuinely self-employed or contractors | No · but the 5-of-8 status test can reclassify them as employees |
How much you must give
The floor is 192 hours a year for a 40-hour week (four weeks plus 32 hours), set in hours rather than days so it pro-rates cleanly. Malta adds 8 hours for every public holiday that falls on a weekend, so 2026 works out at 216 hours.
| Employee | Vacation leave | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Full-time, 40-hour week (statutory floor) | 192 hours (about 24 days) | S.L. 452.87 |
| Full-time in 2026 (with weekend uplift) | 216 hours (about 27 days) | Cap. 252 |
| Part-time | pro-rata of the above | S.L. 452.87 |
Working out any year
The total moves each year, so work it from the base rather than memorising a figure. Our Malta leave calculator does it for you, or apply the rule below against that year's public holidays.
Public holidays
Book Time Off records vacation leave in hours per person, works out part-time pro-rata automatically, and comes with Malta's public holidays already built in. Balances update the moment leave is booked, so no one has to recalculate a thing.
Start free trialWhat the law says
Malta's annual leave rules sit mainly in the Organisation of Working Time Regulations (Subsidiary Legislation 452.87), made under the Employment and Industrial Relations Act (Cap. 452), which implement the EU Working Time Directive. This section runs through them for employers who want the background behind the headline number.
S.L. 452.87 · the 192-hour baseline
The regulations set the baseline at 192 hours of paid vacation leave a year for an employee working an average 40-hour week. It is deliberately expressed in hours rather than days or weeks, so it can be pro-rated cleanly for part-time and variable-hours staff, calculated against average hours over a rolling 17-week reference period. Employees who have not completed 12 months' employment get a proportionate amount based on time actually worked. The 192 hours is a floor, not a ceiling · you can always offer more · and statute does not increase it with length of service, though a collective agreement or contract may. There is no qualifying period before leave accrues: it builds up and can be requested from early in employment, subject to your agreement on timing.
Cap. 252 · the weekend public-holiday uplift
A 2021 amendment to the National Holidays and Other Public Holidays Act (Cap. 252) changed how "lost" public holidays are handled. Rather than public holidays that fall on a Saturday or Sunday simply disappearing, each one now adds an extra day's leave (8 hours, pro rata for part-timers) to that year's annual leave entitlement. This is why the practical number moves from year to year.
| Year | Total annual leave (40-hour week) |
|---|---|
| 2021 | 216 hours |
| 2022 | 224 hours |
| 2023 | 208 hours |
| 2024 | 240 hours |
| 2025 | 224 hours |
| 2026 | 216 hours |
For 2026, the figure is 192 base hours plus 24 hours for the three public holidays that fall on a weekend: Sette Giugno on Sunday 7 June, the Feast of the Assumption on Saturday 15 August, and Republic Day on Sunday 13 December.
Scheduling, whole days and notice
Leave is by default taken in whole days; it can be taken in shorter, hourly blocks only if employer and employee agree. Timing is agreed between the two of you. We found no fixed statutory notice period for requesting leave in Maltese law, so in practice it is set by the employment contract or your workplace policy. Put a clear figure in writing so it is not left to argument.
The protected four weeks and carry-over
The regulations protect a minimum of four weeks (160 hours) of the annual entitlement as leave that must be taken as actual time off work and cannot be substituted with a payment in lieu, except where the employment relationship ends. Carry-over of unused leave into the next year is capped at 50% of the annual entitlement, requires the employee's written agreement, and may happen only once. Carried-over leave must be used before new leave and cannot itself be carried forward again. There is no broader multi-year carry-over or "use within X months of the following year" grace period of the kind some other EU states allow.
Shutdowns
Employers may block-book a maximum of 12 working days (96 hours) of an employee's leave per year for shutdowns such as a Christmas closure, unless a collective agreement provides otherwise. This cap has applied since the Annual Leave National Standard Order took effect in January 2019.
Termination pay and the narrow reverse
On termination, accrued but unused leave (including the protected four-week minimum) must be paid out. The reverse, recovering an overpayment from the employee, is narrower than a simple "any excess is owed back" rule: a civil debt in the employer's favour can arise only where three conditions are all met · the leave taken in advance was requested by the employee himself, it exceeds the employee's annual leave entitlement, and this is assessed only on termination of employment. Outside that specific combination, leave taken ahead of accrual is not automatically recoverable.
Who the law does not cover
Genuinely self-employed people and contractors on civil or commercial contracts fall outside these leave rules · only employees are covered. Malta's Employment Status National Standard Order provides a multi-factor test: an arrangement is treated as employment, whatever its label, if it meets 5 of 8 specified criteria. So a business using contractors should not assume the label alone protects it from a leave or employment-status claim.
Agency and temporary staff
Temporary agency workers are employed by the agency, which is legally responsible for their pay and leave. The Temporary Agency Workers Regulations, in force from 1 January 2025, require that for basic working and employment conditions, including annual leave and public holidays, an agency worker is treated no less favourably than a comparable employee directly employed by the business they are placed with, from day one of the assignment. The duty to actually administer and fund that leave still sits with the agency, not the host business.
Frequently asked questions
How much vacation leave must you give staff in Malta?
At least 192 hours of paid vacation leave a year for a full-time employee on a 40-hour week (four weeks plus 32 hours), set by the Organisation of Working Time Regulations (S.L. 452.87). Malta adds 8 hours for every public holiday that falls on a Saturday or Sunday, so the figure for 2026 is 216 hours, about 27 days at 8 hours a day. You can give more, never less.
Do part-time staff get less annual leave in Malta?
They get the same entitlement scaled to their hours. Leave is set in hours, so a part-timer's 192-hour base, plus the weekend-holiday uplift, is pro-rated against a 40-hour week using their average weekly hours over a 17-week reference period. Someone working 20 hours a week gets 96 base hours, or 108 hours in 2026.
Are public holidays counted as part of annual leave in Malta?
No. Malta has 14 public holidays a year, the same across Malta and Gozo. If a public holiday falls on a normal working day, the employee gets it off with pay. If it falls on a Saturday or Sunday, the law adds 8 hours to that year's annual leave entitlement instead.
Can unused annual leave be carried over to the next year in Malta?
Yes, within limits. With the employee's written agreement, up to 50% of the year's entitlement can be carried into the following year, once only. The carried-over leave must be used first and cannot be carried forward again. There is no multi-year grace period.
Do you have to pay out unused annual leave when someone leaves in Malta?
Yes. On termination you must pay out any accrued but untaken leave, including the protected first four weeks (160 hours), which can only be cashed out when employment ends. This is a legal requirement, not an employer choice.
Can you make staff take annual leave during a shutdown in Malta?
Yes, within a cap. You can use up to 12 working days (96 hours) of an employee's annual leave for a business shutdown, such as a Christmas closure, each year, unless a collective agreement says otherwise. This cap has applied since the Annual Leave National Standard Order took effect in January 2019.
Sources
- Department for Industrial and Employment Relations (DIER) · vacation leave, official government guidance
- Malta legislation portal · Organisation of Working Time Regulations, S.L. 452.87
- Chetcuti Cauchi Advocates · the weekend public-holiday amendment and year-by-year hours
- GVZH Advocates · understanding annual leave in Malta
- GVZH Advocates · employment status and the 5-of-8 test
- Mamo TCV Advocates · the Temporary Agency Workers Regulations
- PwC Malta · payroll updates 2026, confirming 216 hours for 2026
- Empleo · shutdowns in Malta and the 12-working-day cap
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