What are the Government Bonuses in Malta?
The Government Bonuses are two types of allowances paid by the employer in the employee's payslips. Totalling four payments a year, the bonuses are paid as follows:
| Bonus Name | Accrual Period | Payable Date | Full Amount | Pro-Rata |
| Weekly Allowance | October - March | March | €121.16 | €4.66 per week |
| Statutory Bonus | January - June | June | €135.10 | €0.74 per day |
| Weekly Allowance | April - September | September | €121.16 | €4.66 per week |
| Statutory Bonus | July - December | 23rd December | €135.10 | €0.74 per day |
Despite the common layman's term, bonuses are not paid by the government; it is the employer's responsibility to pay them.
Who is Entitled to Malta's Government Statutory Bonus and Weekly Allowance?
All registered employees are entitled to both these bonuses, even part-timers who work full-time elsewhere.
Whereas full-timers who worked the full period are eligible for the whole amount, part-time employees and full-time employees who only worked a part of the payable period would only be entitled to a pro-rata of the full amount.
How to Calculate Malta's Statutory Bonus
The Statutory Bonus for full-timers is paid at €135.10. If a proportionate amount is to be calculated, this is then paid at €0.74 per calendar day in employment within the Jan-June or July-Dec periods.
For employees working on variable or reduced hours, the pro-rata calculation is calculated as follows:
Basic Hours ÷ 1040 Hours* x €0.74 x Calendar Days
*1040 hours is the 40 hours worked for a typical full-timer in a period of 26 weeks. During certain periods, this may vary slightly depending on working days within that period, thus the hours used in the formula may vary slightly.
How to Calculate Malta's Weekly Allowance
For full-timers, the Weekly Allowance amounts to €121.16 for working the full period. When calculating a proportionate amount, this is instead calculated as €4.66 for each week worked, or a pro-rata thereof.
The pro-rata calculation for employees working fewer hours would be the following:
Basic Hours ÷ 1040 Hours* x €4.66 x Weeks Worked
Do Employees Accrue Entitlements During Leave?
This depends on whether the leave is paid or not. Although periods of paid leave generate such entitlements, according to DIER's Frequently Asked Questions, statutory entitlements are not entitled during periods of unpaid leave.
Thus, for full-time employees, hours of unpaid leave would be deducted from the Basic Hours in the above calculations to calculate their bonuses.
Why Do Employees Have Two Bonuses on Termination?
Employees accrue both bonuses at any given time because the Weekly Allowance and the Statutory Bonus are paid once every six months.
Therefore, someone who is terminated in June would have accrued a Statutory Bonus for January to June and a Weekly Allowance from April to June, as this was last paid in March.