Skip to main content
Category

Employment and Industrial Relations

News_pst.png
Court of Justice of the European Union Condemns UK for Breaching Ambient Air Quality Limits Employment and Industrial Relations

Court of Justice of the European Union Condemns UK for Breaching Ambient Air Quality Limits

On the 4th March 2021, the Seventh Chamber of the Court of Justice of the European Union issued its decision on an important matter related to the breach of ambient air quality legislation by the UK government (European Commission v. United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, c-664/18). This case is only one among several others filed by the Commission against EU Member States, including France, Italy, Bulgaria and Hungary. Directive 2008/50/EC on ambient air quality and cleaner air for Europe required Member States of the EU to adopt the air pollution limits contained within its Annexes by the…
Mark Soler
8th March 2021
News_HMR.png
Ex-employee of the St John Co-Cathedral Foundation awarded €23,000 in damages for unfair dismissal Employment and Industrial Relations

Ex-employee of the St John Co-Cathedral Foundation awarded €23,000 in damages for unfair dismissal

An ex-employee of the St John's Co-Cathedral Foundation instituted proceedings before the Industrial Tribunal seeking compensation for unfair dismissal. The defendant Foundation argued that the ex-employee had committed several breaches throughout the years and that the final action of insubordination on his part had left the Foundation with no option other than to summarily dismiss him. The Tribunal commented that whilst the defendant had argued that the ex-employee had committed several abusive practices, its reaction towards such alleged abuses had always been lenient. A point worth mentioning is the fact that the disciplinary board which had been set up to…
Christine Calleja
19th February 2021
News_Hammer.png
Industrial Tribunal to have jurisdiction in case of termination of fixed term employment contracts Employment and Industrial Relations

Industrial Tribunal to have jurisdiction in case of termination of fixed term employment contracts

In the case of Waldemar Galea v l-Universita' ta' Malta, decided by the Court of Appeal on the 25th January 2019, it was held that due to the wording of the law in Chapter 452 (the Employment and Industrial Relations Act), cases of alleged unfair termination of fixed term employment contracts had to be decided by the normal civil courts and not by the Industrial Tribunal.Act LVIII of 2020, published on the 11th December 2020, now establishes that the definition of 'unfair dismissal' in the Act includes also the termination by the employer of a fixed term employment contract (except…
Christine Calleja
16th December 2020
News_OBL.png
Bullying at Work Employment and Industrial RelationsNews

Bullying at Work

This week (the week from Monday 16th November 2020 until the 20th November 2020) is anti-bullying week – a week meant to raise awareness against prejudice and bullying not only in schools but also at the workplace and cyber-bullying. Maltese employment law does not deal directly with bullying but with harassment, and this in connection with discriminatory treatment or with sexual harassment. Does this mean that unless there is discrimination involved, the employer is not bound to protect employees from bullying at work?The Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service ('ACAS') in the UK defines bullying as behaviour from a person or…
Christine Calleja
17th November 2020
News_Sig.png
Court Judgment on Status of Employee Employment and Industrial RelationsNews

Court Judgment on Status of Employee

In a judgment delivered on the 30th September 2020, the Court of Appeal confirmed a decision of the Industrial Tribunal ("the Tribunal") which had found that the relationship between the applicant and the defendant company was not one of employment.The applicant had instituted proceedings before the Industrial Tribunal following the termination of his contract. He alleged that notwithstanding what his contract stated, he should be deemed an employee and therefore termination could only take place for a good and sufficient cause. Since the company had terminated his contract simply by giving notice according to the contract, he was therefore allegedly…
Christine Calleja
2nd October 2020
News_BSU.png
How far should the employer go to provide alternative employment in case of health problems? Employment and Industrial Relations

How far should the employer go to provide alternative employment in case of health problems?

In a judgment delivered on the 1st July 2020 (case number 83/2019LM), the Court of Appeal considered the requirements of constructive dismissal. An ex-employee claimed that he had been forced to resign from his employment due to health problems which did not allow him to continue his job. Through his trade union, the employee requested the employer to provide him with alternative employment, but the company replied that none was available. After exhausting all his sick leave and a further period of unpaid leave, he decided to terminate his employment. The Tribunal had decided that the employee had not resigned…
Christine Calleja
10th July 2020