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Malta: answering a pay-information request in 8 days (Equal Pay Regulations, L.N. 173 of 2026)

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By Bandplain · Last verified: 2026-10-04 · Rule pack 2026-10 · Information, not legal advice

In short. Malta's Equal Pay (Transparency and Reporting) Regulations, 2026 (Legal Notice 173 of 2026, published 5 June 2026) give applicants a right to the initial pay or range before the recruitment process ends, and give workers the right to a written answer about pay within 8 days of a request. If the information is not provided, or is inaccurate or incomplete, within 45 days of the first request, this is an offence against the Employment and Industrial Relations Act and the Director may start proceedings (reg. 6(5)). The regulations also bar asking about pay history, and require pay reports from employers with 100 or more workers. (Source: https://legislation.mt/eli/ln/2026/173/eng, opened 2026-10-04.)

Who this applies to

Question Answer Source
Law Equal Pay (Transparency and Reporting) Regulations, 2026, L.N. 173 of 2026 (Cap. 452), Government Gazette No. 21,661 of 5 June 2026 see Sources
Commencement Published 5 June 2026. The legal notice has no commencement provision; we treat it as applying from publication (5 June 2026), medium confidence. Earlier rules from L.N. 112 of 2025 have applied since 2025 (see below) see Sources
Size Pre-employment, salary-history and information duties: no size floor found. Progression part of the pay policy: employers under 50 workers exempt. Reports: 100 or more workers regs. 4-6, 9

Already in force since 2025

L.N. 112 of 2025 (Government Gazette of 27 June 2025, in force within two months, that is by 27 August 2025; the text gives no exact day) added reg. 5A to the Transparent and Predictable Working Conditions Regulations (S.L. 452.126). Applicants get the initial pay or range before employment starts. Workers may ask for their own pay level and the pay levels of workers doing the same work, answered within 2 months at most. These rules were not repealed in 2026, but the 2026 regulations are stricter (range before recruitment ends; answer in 8 days), so follow the 2026 rules. Source: https://legislation.mt/eli/ln/2025/112/eng (opened 2026-10-04; review-guides-2026-10-04.md §4).

What to disclose about pay, and when

Moment What the employer gives Source
During recruitment The initial pay or range, based on objective, gender-neutral criteria, and the relevant collective-agreement provisions, provided prior to the conclusion of the recruitment process reg. 4(1) proviso
Not required The text we read does not require the range in the ad, and does not require it before the interview. This is looser than the examples in the directive see Sources
Notices and titles Gender-neutral job notices and titles reg. 4(3)

Salary-history questions

Employers may not ask applicants about their pay history (reg. 4(2)). Source: listed at the end of this guide.

Pay-information requests from employees

Item Rule Source
Deadline Written answer within 8 days. Plan on 8 calendar days from receipt. The regulations say "working days" where they mean it (regs. 9(5), 10(3), 21(3)), so we read "8 days" as calendar days. No authority has confirmed this. reg. 6(2)
If the employer does not answer Where an employees' representative is appointed (or a union the worker chose), it may ask within 12 days of the 8-day deadline. Then the worker may ask through the Equality Body (NCPE). Where no representative is appointed, the worker may be able to use the NCPE route as soon as the 8 days pass (our reading of reg. 6(3)(b)). reg. 6(3)
Offence If the information is not provided, or is inaccurate or incomplete, within 45 days of the first request, this is an offence against the Employment and Industrial Relations Act and the Director may start proceedings. The 45 days count from the date the request was first made (reg. 6(5)), which can be earlier than the day you received it. Answering after day 8 is already late; day 45 is not a grace period. reg. 6(5)
Requests made in 2026 Cover 2026 pay only see Sources
Annual notice Workers are told of the right each year reg. 6(6)
Record keeping Keep the information and data for at least 5 years reg. 6(8)
Use of the data The employer may require that information about others' pay is used only to exercise the right to equal pay (reg. 6(9)) product-constraints.md §4 (Malta reg. 6(9))

Pay and progression policy

A written pay and progression policy, accessible at all times (reg. 5). Employers with fewer than 50 workers are exempt from the progression part. Employers with 25 or more workers must still document the criteria for pay and progression internally (reg. 5(2)); the text has a drafting slip ("twenty (25)"). Source: listed at the end of this guide.

Reporting thresholds and dates

Workers First report Then Source
250 or more by 7 June 2027, covering 1 Jan to 31 Dec 2026 every year reg. 9
150 to 249 by 7 June 2027 every 3 years (next covers 2029) see Sources
100 to 149 by 7 June 2031, covering 2030 every 3 years see Sources
Under 100 No reporting duty found see Sources

Reports go to the Monitoring Body (Department for Industrial and Employment Relations) in its prescribed format. Management confirms the report's accuracy after consulting employees' representatives (reg. 9(7)). The pay gap by category (indicator g) goes to all workers and their representatives (reg. 9(9)). A joint pay assessment follows when the gap is at least 5% in a category, not justified by objective gender-neutral criteria, and not corrected within 6 months (reg. 10); tell the Monitoring Body within 10 working days of completing it. Source: listed at the end of this guide.

Penalties (verified in the regulations; stated for planning only)

Under reg. 20 a breach is an offence punishable on conviction by a fine of EUR 2,500 to EUR 5,000. The fine is EUR 5,000 to EUR 7,000 where the offence consists of, or is connected with, a breach of equal pay "on the basis of gender and intersectional discrimination". Courts impose a more severe fine within those limits for repeated infringements. Directors and managers of a company can also be held liable unless they show due diligence (Employment and Industrial Relations Act, art. 46; see also Interpretation Act, art. 13). Prosecution must start within two years (art. 47). Breaching the older 2025 rule (S.L. 452.126 reg. 5A) is a separate offence, with a fine of at least €450 (reg. 19 of those regulations). In proceedings, the burden of proof shifts where regs. 4, 5, 6, 9 or 10 were not implemented (reg. 15(3); this point is flagged for professional review in see Sources and is not relied on here). Source: reg. 20; Cap. 452 arts. 46–47 and S.L. 452.126 reg. 19 (https://legislation.mt, opened 2026-10-07).

Collective agreements already in force

Collective agreements in force when the 2026 regulations started are treated as valid and as meeting the requirements for their term, including extensions until a new agreement is made (reg. 23(6)). Claims for breach of the agreement itself remain possible. How far this protection goes is not settled.

What is not yet settled (as of 2026-10-04)

  1. Commencement. Published 5 June 2026; no commencement clause, so we treat the regulations as applying from that date. Earlier rules (L.N. 112 of 2025) have applied since 2025. The interplay of the 2025 two-month answer (reg. 5A) with the 8-day answer in 2026 needs professional review.
  2. "8 days". We treat it as calendar days (see above). No authority has confirmed this.
  3. Report deadline conflict. Reg. 9(5) also says reports are submitted within 14 working days of the end of a yearly period, which conflicts with the 7 June dates. One reading would require filing within 14 working days of 31 December. We think this unlikely, but ask DIER before relying on 7 June.
  4. Report format. The Monitoring Body's prescribed format was not found.

Checklist

  • One person owns incoming pay requests and logs the date received.
  • A reply template exists; target: written answer within 8 days.
  • A reminder fires well before day 45 from the first request.
  • Applicants receive the range and any collective-agreement pay provisions before recruitment ends.
  • Nobody asks about pay history.
  • Request records and data are kept at least 5 years.
  • Workers are told of their right once a year.
  • You know your headcount band (under 50, 50-99, 100-149, 150-249, 250 or more).
  • Information to applicants and workers is available in formats accessible to people with disabilities (reg. 7).
  • The regulations are brought to workers' attention (reg. 18).
  • Nobody is treated less favourably for asking (reg. 13).
  • The request log records both the date the request was made and the date it was received (the 45 days run from the first).
  • A Maltese employment adviser has reviewed the process.

FAQ

How long do we have to answer a pay-information request in Malta? 8 days for the written answer; plan on calendar days from receipt. Failing to provide complete and accurate information within 45 days of the date the request was first made is an offence (reg. 6(2), 6(5)).

Must the pay range be in the job ad? The text we read does not require it; it must be provided before the recruitment process concludes (reg. 4(1)).

Does it apply to a 15-person company? The pre-employment, history and information duties have no size floor in the text we read; the progression part is exempt under 50 workers; reports start at 100 .

When did the regulations start? Published 5 June 2026; no commencement clause, so we treat them as applying from that date. Earlier rules (L.N. 112 of 2025) have applied since 2025 .

Can the worker complain if we do not answer? Where a representative is appointed (or a union the worker chose), it may ask within 12 days of the 8-day deadline; then the worker may go through the Equality Body (NCPE). Without a representative, the NCPE route may be open as soon as the 8 days pass (our reading) (reg. 6(3)).

Sources (all opened 2026-10-04)

Update log

  • 2026-10-04: first draft. Next scheduled review: 2 November 2026 (2025/2026 answer-deadline interplay and reg. 9(5) are on the list). 2026-10-04 (later): corrections from docs/compliance/review-guides-2026-10-04.md applied. 2026-10-07: G3-A to G3-H from docs/compliance/ai-legal-review/malta-review.md applied by compliance-analyst (texts re-verified on legislation.mt).