Hiring in Malta? Start with the model, not the paperwork.

Malta is a small, English-speaking EU and eurozone member built on financial services, iGaming, and maritime business, but getting your employment model wrong still carries real cost in time, money, and compliance. We help you choose the right way to hire, place you with the right partner, and stay alongside you for the life of the relationship.

  • Independent advice
  • Vetted partners
  • On your side at renewal

An English-speaking EU hub to hire in. A tax system built on refunds underneath.

Malta is one of only two EU member states where English is an official language, with real strength in financial services, iGaming, and maritime and aviation registries, but its headline 35% corporate tax rate is not the number that applies once shareholder refunds are claimed, and a company that prices off the headline rate alone will misjudge the opportunity.

01

An English-speaking EU and eurozone member

One of only two EU states, alongside Ireland, where English is an official language, and a full eurozone member, so there is no currency-conversion layer to manage on top of payroll, and contracts and correspondence run in English throughout.

02

Social security banded by birth year

The Employment and Industrial Relations Act requires “good and sufficient cause” for any dismissal, Malta has no general statutory severance pay (unusual among EU peers), and social security contributions are banded by the employee’s birth year rather than a flat percentage, so your employment structure has to be chosen with care.

03

Independent expert advice

Not sure whether you need EOR, payroll, or your own Ltd company? We map your headcount, timeline, and risk profile and give you a clear recommendation, not a product pitch.

Four ways to hire in Malta. Pick once, pick right.

Most businesses arrive having already decided, and often decided too quickly. Here is the honest version of each route. When one fits, the detailed guide is one click away.

Employer of Record

An EOR partner becomes the legal employer of your Maltese staff, handling the contract, payroll, statutory withholdings (income tax, Class One social security, and the statutory bonus payments), and EIRA compliance, while you direct the work. Operational in days, no entity needed. Best for testing the market or hiring a small team.

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Global Payroll

For when you already have a Maltese entity, or want to consolidate payroll across several countries. You stay the legal employer; a specialist partner runs the monthly Final Settlement System (FSS) withholding and Malta Tax and Customs Administration (MTCA) filings correctly.

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Entity Formation (Ltd)

Your own Maltese company, most commonly a Private Limited Liability Company (Ltd), formed by Memorandum and Articles of Association and Malta Business Registry (MBR) entry. Full control and a local presence, but you carry registration, banking, and ongoing filings. Right when the headcount and permanence justify it.

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PEO Services

A co-employment model alongside your own Maltese entity. True PEO co-employment is far less established in Malta than in the US, so for most companies EOR or managed payroll is the better fit. We will tell you honestly which one your situation calls for.

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Malta at a glance

Currency

Euro (EUR). Malta is a full eurozone member, so if your budget already runs in EUR there is no currency-conversion layer between your cost planning and local payroll.

Minimum wage (2026)

EUR 229.44 per week (about EUR 994 a month) for 2026, one national rate set under the Employment and Industrial Relations Act, with a Cost-of-Living Adjustment applied every year.

Employer costs

Employers pay 10% of an employee’s basic weekly wage in Class One social security up to a EUR 559.31 weekly wage threshold, above which the contribution is fixed at EUR 55.93 a week for employees born on or after 1 January 1962, or EUR 49.04 for those born earlier, plus two statutory bonus payments (the Government Bonus and Weekly Allowance) that sit outside ordinary payroll.

Leave & Notice

Malta is not at-will: dismissal must be for “good and sufficient cause”, with statutory notice scaling from 1 week up to a 12-week maximum by length of service. Annual leave is set at 216 hours for 2026 (about 27 working days), with 14 public holidays.

Hiring in Malta: quick answers

The questions we are asked most about hiring in Malta.

What is the fastest way to hire someone in Malta?

An Employer of Record. Your hire can start in days, with a compliant Maltese employment contract from day one and no entity to set up. It is the lowest-risk way to test the market or place a small team.

Do I need a Maltese entity to hire?

No. With an EOR you can employ people in Malta without your own company. You only need to incorporate when you are committing to a permanent, larger presence, and we will tell you honestly when that point arrives.

Social security contributions are banded by the employee’s birth year rather than a single flat rate, two separate statutory bonus payments sit outside ordinary payroll, and dismissal must meet the “good and sufficient cause” standard rather than at-will termination. None of it is a problem when handled correctly, which is the point of getting the model right at the start.

We are independent: we assess what you actually need, place you with the right vetted partner, secure pricing you will not get going direct, and stay on your side to escalate or renegotiate. You get advice, not a product pitch.

Income tax runs on three separate progressive 2026 tables depending on marital/parental status, computed as (chargeable income x rate) minus the subtraction shown, from 0% to 35%.

Single
Chargeable income (EUR)RateSubtract (EUR)
0 – 12,0000%0
12,001 – 16,00015%1,800
16,001 – 60,00025%3,400
Above 60,00035%9,400
Married
Chargeable income (EUR)RateSubtract (EUR)
0 – 15,0000%0
15,001 – 23,00015%2,250
23,001 – 60,00025%4,550
Above 60,00035%10,550
Parent
Chargeable income (EUR)RateSubtract (EUR)
0 – 13,0000%0
13,001 – 17,50015%1,950
17,501 – 60,00025%3,700
Above 60,00035%9,700

A 2026 refinement adds further child-count sub-bands for married and parent taxpayers, each with its own lower thresholds inside the same rate structure — not detailed here, documented as an open item pending dedicated verification of each sub-band threshold.

Let’s map your Malta hire.

Tell us who you want to hire and where you are headed in Malta. One conversation maps your options, flags the risks, and usually gets you to a better answer, and better pricing, than going direct. No pitch.

Tax and labour data verified July 2026 (Department for Industrial and Employment Relations, Malta Tax and Customs Administration, Malta Business Registry, legislation.mt). Figures change; we confirm the current position when we scope your hire.