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Earlier this month Maltese business owners were left surprised and dismayed after it was revealed that the UK had left the island out of its safe-to-travel green list, however a few weeks later Malta actually made it to the UK’s green list and Malta’s accomodation sector reported up to 70% accupancy throughout summer.

UK represented 33% of all tourists arrivals in Malta in 2019 and being on the UK’s green list meant a lot.

Locally, the travel and tourism sector contributed €2.03 billion to GDP in 2019, according to the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), accounting for approximately 17 per cent of GDP.

Following the restaurants and snack-bars, bars also re-opened and while business recovered, the hospitality industry is experiencing an understaffing crisis.

COVID-19 measures are leaving some with no other choice but to have to employ more staff.

Restaurants, hotels and bars which previously relied on self-service are having to recruit more people due to the switch to table service, and some establishments are having to employ more security personnel to manage queues, he explained.

Speaking to local media, Malta Chamber of SMEs Deputy President said that “while these restrictions aren’t new, we are really starting to feel the pinch now because tourism has opened again in a scenario where many have been forced to operate with limited staff.”

He pointed out that the chamber as well as other stakeholders were in constant discussions with the authorities to amend certain restrictions in such a way as to support business owners without putting people at risk.

One of the proposals has been to replace the ban on self-service with a protective shade of Perspex along the counter as well as floor markings for crowd control. This alone would alleviate a lot of pressure, especially from hotels and bars which depend on self-service. While Fenech said it was important to open up in a slow and cautious manner, he urged the authorities not to be conservative unless really needed.

“The economic consequences and the collateral damage as a result of some of these restrictions really needs to be taken into consideration,” he said.

Business 1st continued to improve their one-stop-shop services to businesses.

The Department of Industrial and Employment Relations (DIER) is the latest Government entity to enhance their One-Stop-Shop services at Business 1st, initially offering customer care services every fortnight.

As of June 22nd, DIER started to inform clients on the rights and obligations pertinent to employers, as well as the Conditions of Employment.

Business 1st also launched a new ticketing system to improve their  service and client relationship. To submit their queries, businesses may click on the following link:  https://helpdesk.businessfirst.com.mt/

The SME Chamber contributed to iron out inconsistencies to help the various sectors work and remove any unnecessary burdens

The Bill seeks to update the provisions of the Act relating to the quotas for the employment of persons with disability

A Bill seeking to amend Chapter 210 of the Laws of Malta, the Persons with Disability (Employment) Act (‘the Act’), has been tabled before the House of Representatives.

The Act in its current Form

Chapter 210 currently regulates several matters appertaining to the employment of persons with disability, including, the setting of a Register of Persons with Disability, as well as the obligation on certain employers that engage more than 20 employees to employ persons with disability based on a defined quota (currently 2% of the workforce).

If the quota is not respected, the competent Corporation is empowered to ask that the employer pays an annual contribution of €2,400 per person with disability that should be in employment, up to a maximum €10,000.

An offence against the Act, on conviction, gives rise to a fine (multa) not exceeding €232.94 and/or imprisonment.

Objectives of the Bill

The Bill seeks to update the provisions of the Act relating to the quotas for the employment of persons with disability, as well as to address other consequential amendments thereto.

Key amendments

Amongst the most noteworthy amendments, the Bill proposes the following amendments:

– to remove a proviso which presently states that, for the purposes of computing whether an employer engages more than 20 persons, no account is taken of any employees who are related to the employer by consanguinity or affinity up to the third degree. Therefore, going forward it is understood that all employees, whether related or otherwise, shall be taken into consideration for the purposes of such computation.

– to strengthen the wording of the Act, such that in the event of a failure to respect the quota, the competent Corporation would not be empowered to ask for payment, but rather the employer will be obliged to make an annual contribution as determined by the Corporation, of not less than €2,400 per person with disability that should be in employment, up to a maximum €10,000.

– to eliminate the capping of €10,000 for a group of companies which is duly registered with the relevant authorities.

– to empower the Minister with the ability to increase the amount of contribution or maximum amounts.

– to introduce a concession for ‘particular employers’, such as temporary work agencies, temporary service contractors, and companies with fluctuating or seasonal levels of employment. These shall be entitled, for quota calculation purposes, to establish the true size of their workforce by counting a temporary employee as a fraction of 1, in proportion to the number of days actually worked by such employee for the calendar year.

– to introduce a carve-out, whereby if an employer who does not adhere to the relevant quota, but who can prove, to the satisfaction of the Corporation that it is offering equivalent hours of work to persons with a disability through an in-service or an outsourced work arrangement or, is actually providing work to a person with a disability who is officially employed by another employer, shall be deemed to satisfy the quota.

– to clarify that recruitment efforts, work trials and discussions with entities by an employer with the aim of employing persons with a disability, shall not exonerate an employer from the payment of the contribution.

– to clarify that if a person with a disability resigns within one year of employment, that employee shall still be considered for the purposes of determining the quota for the year in which such employment commenced.

– to add that employees who are not registered as persons with disability, but who are medically certified to be within the definition of disability, may be acknowledged by the Corporation, only for the purposes of an employer’s quota calculation.

With regards to the penalties established under Article 29 of the Act, the Bill proposes to do away with the imprisonment penalty and instead stipulates that failure to pay the contribution within the time established by the Corporation shall be considered to be an offence and upon conviction, a person shall become liable to the payment of the contribution and the fine (multa). This is to be read in conjunction with the existing Article 30, which provides that where an offence against the Act or any regulations made thereunder is committed by an association of persons, every person who, at the time of the commission of the offence, was a director, manager, secretary or other similar officer of such association or was purporting to act in any such capacity, shall be guilty of that offence unless he proves that the offence was committed without his knowledge and that he exercised all due diligence to prevent the commission of the offence.

Information provided by Fenech & Fenech Advocates

Disclaimer │ The information provided on this Update does not, and is not intended to, constitute legal advice. All information, content, and materials available are for general informational purposes only.  This Update may not constitute the most up-to-date legal or other information and you are advised to seek updated advice

The 2021 UfM Women Business Forum discussed opportunities of digitilisation for women entrepreneurs

Malta Chamber of SMEs CEO Ms Abigail Mamo participated in the 2021 UfM Women Business Forum discussing opportunities of digitilisation for women entrepreneurs.

The discussion focused on how digital technology has impacted value chains and how it can enhance the competitiveness of women-owned SMEs and women’s bargaining power. Panelists discussed the catalyzing effect these technologies can have to provide access to finance and new markets, exploring their potential from the world of digital payments and e-commerce to innovation and business advocating.

The discussion was moderated by Sana Afouaiz, an Award-winning founder and director of Womenpreneur Initiative, and UN Women Advisor.

The launch of these investment opportunities is in line with the objectives of “Oman Vision 2040”

The Embassy of the Sultanate of Oman has informed that within the context of the Sultanate’s Vision 2040, the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion of the Sultanate of Oman has launched a new investment initiative comprises of 50 investment opportunities in the Omani industrial sector, with the aim of attracting more local and foreign investment.

In this respect, the Embassy stated that the 50 investment opportunities spread across multiple industries, including

– food products

-paper and paper products

– petrochemicals

– construction

– electrical equipment

– rubber and rubber products,

– waste disposal and management,

– metallurgy,

– mining and quarrying activities

– and the assembly of heating and cooling units

The launch of these investment opportunities is in line with the objectives of “Oman Vision 2040” that focuses on economic diversification, and the Sultanate’s industrial strategy.

In this regard, a number of incentives is granted to investors in the industrial sector like, for example, immediate issuance of licenses, customs exemption (for equipment, spare parts, raw materials), exemption of industrial establishments from income tax for five years, reduction of rents on land in the Duqm Economic Zone and the industrial zones of the Public Establishment for Industrial Estates by 25%, starting from January 2021 until the end of 2022.

More information can be found through: https://t.co/FUnOYjmMaD?ssr=true

Tech.mt is conducting a survey to gather further insight from local businesses on their perceptions towards the Internet of Things (IoT)

Previous years have seen massive attention around the Internet of Things (IoT) but have brought little knowledge of its adoption among Maltese businesses. It is evident that the IoT is paving the way for businesses to redefine the way they manufacture or design products, optimise processes, and enable enhanced sales.

To this end, Tech.mt is conducting a survey to gather further insight from local businesses on their perceptions towards the Internet of Things (IoT). More particularly, the survey investigates areas such as sectoral relevance, willingness to invest, barriers or challenges, and effectiveness on business operations. The findings of the survey will be vital in forming Malta’s national objectives for the adoption of emerging technologies such as IoT amongst the business community.

In this respect, we are reaching out to the Malta Chamber of SMEs to get the voice of their members/representations by encouraging them to participate in this survey and provide their insights towards IoT.

The survey may be accessed through the link below:

https://tech.mt/media/blog/perception-on-internet-of-things-amongst-maltese-businesses/

An Opportunity not to be missed

If there is one sure word that yields business, it is digital. Maltese businesses have only started barely scraping the surface and the untapped potential continues growing exponentially. Business are becoming more digital both for efficiency and cost, and it is well know that those businesses who do not embrace some digital transformation will become less competitive and will lose more market. But to achieve this a business needs to upskill its employees with digital skills and knowledge, and this is crucial.

Why should a business be bothered about digital skills?

The key to unlocking the digital opportunities lies in having the right skills and this is where the eSkills Malta Foundation can help businesses step up their game. What the eSkills Malta Foundation offers is completely accessible and entirely FREE of CHARGE.

Having a well-functioning eCommerce site is today a basic requirement and, to continue succeeding, businesses need much more than this today. The Maltese economy is moving towards digitalisation and will become increasingly dependent on digitalisation like never before.

A number of grants and funding opportunities are already available for businesses that take on the decision to invest. These will be increasing significantly within the coming months.

The starting point is always however developing the businesses’ capacity in terms of eSkills to be able to generate digital opportunities and identify what comes next.

Who is the eSkills Malta Foundation?

The eSkills Malta Foundation is a National Coalition made up of various representatives from Government, industry and education, who came together to contribute to the increase in digital skills and the development of the IT profession in Malta.

The Foundation in fact offers a wide variety of courses and gives access to digital skills, which can meet anybody’s need and address the full spectrum of the digital skills gap.

Amongst which, the eSkills Malta Foundation offers the following courses which are intended for businesses.

– Business Digital enablement for Business Owners

This course, developed by Ernst & Young Ltd, starts in September 2021 and targets Business Executives and Leaders.

The aim is to give exposure of the emerging technologies of Cloud, Workplace Modernisation, Effective project delivery, Using and Analysing Data as well as Process Automation.

More information and access to the registration can be found via the following link. 

– Online Digital Transformation Course

Developed by PWC, this course consists of 3 eLearning Tutorials which can be taken separately or all together should one wish.

Course content includes the subject of eCommerce comprehensively starting from a transformation point of view to online rules and effective team collaboration.

More information and access to the registration can be found via the following link.

– Elements of Artificial Intelligence

A course created by Reaktor and the University of Helsinki and seeks to answer the questions of what AI is and isn’t, how it can be applied to real-life applications, and what the implications of this technology are for companies.

More information and access to the registration can be found via the following link.

– Amazon Cloud Courses

This presents a golden opportunity to equip yourself with the tech certifications which have been declared the world’s most in-demand for three consecutive years. It’s first-come, first-served for individuals based in the Maltese islands.

Courses are separately available for technical and non-technical users and is sponsored by Melita Foundation. Last year this was a success and eSkills Malta Foundation are in the process of doing a repeat this year.

More information and access to the registration can be found via the following link.

– eSkills Digital Bootcamp 2021

The Foundation offers other various courses that you may find useful to you and your employees. Have a look at the following link.

How can you get in touch for further details?

The eSkills Malta Foundation can be contacted either by phone on (356) 21 234 710 or by email on