Employer of Record (EOR) in Malta

Hire in Malta in days, with no entity and no exposure to getting EIRA compliance wrong. We place you with the right vetted EOR partner, at pricing you will not get going direct, and stay on your side for the life of the relationship.

  • Independent advice
  • Vetted partners
  • Operational in days

What an Employer of Record does for you in Malta

An Employer of Record is a company that legally employs your Maltese staff on your behalf. You choose the person and direct their work day to day. The EOR is the legal employer on paper, which is what lets you build a team in Malta without forming your own company.

In practice the EOR partner takes on everything that needs a Maltese legal entity and local expertise: a compliant employment contract under the Employment and Industrial Relations Act (EIRA), monthly payroll with income tax and Class One social security withheld through the Final Settlement System (FSS), employer contributions and the statutory Government Bonus and Weekly Allowance payments, statutory benefits and leave, and compliant onboarding and lawful exits with the correct statutory notice, since Malta requires “good and sufficient cause” for dismissal rather than at-will termination. You get a working team in days. The EOR carries the legal and compliance weight; you carry the commercial relationship. The only question worth spending time on is which partner is genuinely strong in Malta, and that is the question we answer for you.

01

Legal employer, on paper

A compliant Maltese employment contract under the EIRA, with all statutory terms correct from day one.

02

Compliant from day one

Monthly payroll, income tax, and Class One social-security withholding through the Final Settlement System, employer contributions, and the statutory Government Bonus and Weekly Allowance payments.

03

No entity required

Statutory benefits, annual leave, and lawful notice under the EIRA (Malta has no general statutory severance pay, unlike many EU peers), plus lawful onboarding and exits. You get a working team in days; the EOR carries the legal weight.

How it works: four steps to a compliant hire

From first call to a compliant Maltese hire at work, usually in days.

01 — Scope & quote

We map the role, salary, and start date, and come back with a clear all-in monthly cost. No guesswork, no hidden extras.

02 — Compliant contract

Your employment contract is drafted to Maltese standards by the partner, and we sanity-check the terms and pricing before you sign. Compliant from day one.

03 — Onboard in days

A correct Maltese contract is issued under the EIRA, with all statutory terms from day one. Your hire can start in days.

04 — Payroll & compliance run

Income tax and Class One social security calculated and withheld through the FSS, payslips issued, statutory filings made to the Malta Tax and Customs Administration (MTCA). You direct the work; the compliance just runs.

What EOR in Malta costs

Two parts: the statutory cost of employing someone, and the EOR partner fee. In Malta the statutory employer cost is a capped percentage of basic wage rather than an uncapped percentage of full salary, and it comes with two separate statutory bonus payments most foreign employers do not expect. We make both transparent before you commit, so there are no surprises.

Employer social security

10% of basic weekly wage (Class One, Category I) up to a EUR 559.31 weekly wage threshold, above which it’s fixed at EUR 55.93 a week (born on/after 1 Jan 1962) or EUR 49.04 (born up to 31 Dec 1961). Plus the statutory Government Bonus (EUR 135.10/year) and Weekly Allowance (EUR 121.16/year), paid on top of ordinary salary. Predictable and fully costed before you commit.

Minimum wage (2026)

About EUR 994 a month (EUR 229.44 a week) for 2026, one national rate under the Employment and Industrial Relations Act.

Income tax (employee)

Progressive 0/15/25/35% bands under the Final Settlement System, with separate tables for single, married, and parent taxpayers rather than one scale. Single-taxpayer thresholds: 0% to EUR 12,000, 15% to EUR 16,000, 25% to EUR 60,000, 35% above that (married and parent tables use higher thresholds). Withheld monthly at source from the employee’s pay, reconciled via the annual FS7. Borne by the employee, not added to your cost.

EOR partner fee

A transparent per-employee monthly fee. We benchmark across our vetted network, typically 15 to 25% below going direct, and renegotiate for you at renewal.

Why run it through Bradford Jacobs

We know which EOR partners are genuinely strong in Malta, by sector and by complexity. We place you with the right one, at pricing you will not get going direct, and stay on your side for the life of the relationship.

Independent, not a single provider

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.

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

Pricing you can’t get direct

Malta’s employer cost is not a simple percentage of salary: Class One social security is banded by the employee’s birth year and capped weekly, and two separate statutory bonus payments sit outside ordinary payroll, which makes it easy to under- or over-quote a monthly fee up front. We benchmark across our partner network for rates typically 15 to 25% below going direct, and renegotiate on your behalf at renewal. Most companies do not know how much room there is to negotiate. We do.

  • 15-25% below direct
  • Network benchmarking
  • Renegotiated for you

Straight to the top when it matters

When something needs resolving, and in global employment it sometimes does, you come to us. We escalate directly, past the helpdesk, to people who can actually move it.

  • Direct escalation
  • No support queues
  • Named account contact

Two decades across markets

Two decades placing and managing EOR arrangements across global markets, with the local knowledge of the EIRA, Class One social security banding, and Malta’s “good and sufficient cause” termination standard that keeps you compliant.

  • EOR specialists
  • EIRA & DIER
  • Risk removed

Built for conversion to your own entity

Most companies use EOR for 12 to 24 months, then move to their own Maltese Ltd. We plan that crossover and manage the transition when the economics justify it.

  • EOR to entity path
  • Transition managed
  • Crossover planning

Why an EOR is the fastest compliant way into Malta

Two things slow foreign employers down in Malta: the time to incorporate, and the risk of getting EIRA’s notice and “good and sufficient cause” dismissal rules wrong. An EOR removes both.

Working time, leave & contracts

Compliance handled under one national EIRA. Maltese employment law requires mandatory Class One social security contributions banded by birth year, and dismissal that is only lawful for “good and sufficient cause”, with statutory notice, rather than at-will termination. An EOR carries all of it correctly from day one, so a wrong assumption never becomes a liability.

Operational in days, not weeks

Incorporating in Malta typically takes 2 to 5 working days once documentation and the bank deposit are ready, though bank account opening and KYC checks are often the rate-limiting step, and you cannot legally employ anyone until the Malta Business Registry entry completes. An EOR removes that wait entirely: a compliant Maltese contract is issued and your hire starts in days. You prove the market first, then incorporate later only if the headcount justifies it. This is the real value of EOR in Malta: speed into a market with its own tax and payroll detail, with the compliance carried by an expert.

Everything your Maltese EOR covers

One transparent monthly fee per employee covers all of this. No hidden extras.

Compliant Maltese contract

A compliant Maltese employment contract under the EIRA, issued and maintained for you.

Payroll & social security

Monthly payroll run, with income tax and Class One social security contributions calculated, withheld, and filed correctly each month through the Final Settlement System. Separately, every engagement and termination is registered with Jobsplus, Malta’s public employment agency, on the statutory Engagement and Termination Forms, with termination filings due within 4 working days, a distinct filing duty from payroll itself that catches employers unaware.

Statutory benefits

All statutory benefits administered: paid annual leave (216 hours for 2026), 14 public holidays, maternity and paternity leave (partly Social-Security-funded), and statutory notice on exit, which Malta requires since dismissal must meet the “good and sufficient cause” standard. Employee social security matches the employer at 10% of basic weekly wage up to the same EUR 559.31 weekly threshold, fixed thereafter at the same cohort-dependent maximum (EUR 55.93 or EUR 49.04 a week), deducted from salary, not billed to you.

Compliance & support

Ongoing HR compliance and a single point of contact, for the life of the engagement.

Your questions answered

Straight answers on how Employer of Record works in Malta.

Is my hire employed by Bradford Jacobs or by me?

Legally, your hire is employed by the Maltese EOR partner we place you with, which is what keeps you compliant without an entity. Day to day they work for you: you set the work, the goals, the relationship. You get the team; the partner carries the legal employer obligations.

Usually within days once the role and salary are agreed, with a compliant Maltese contract from day one. Compare that to the 2 to 5 working days an incorporation can take once paperwork and the bank deposit are ready, during which you cannot legally employ anyone.

Predictable, but not a flat percentage: 10% of basic weekly wage in Class One social security up to a EUR 559.31 weekly threshold, then fixed at EUR 55.93 or EUR 49.04 a week depending on the employee’s birth cohort, plus the two statutory bonus payments (Government Bonus and Weekly Allowance) most foreign employers do not budget for upfront. Add the transparent EOR partner fee and you have your all-in cost.

Yes, when done properly. The EOR is a real Maltese legal employer meeting all EIRA, social security, and MTCA tax obligations, contributing Class One social security on the person’s behalf rather than leaving them on Class Two self-employed contributions, which is the misclassification exposure a genuine employment relationship removes. The risk is using an under-resourced partner, which is exactly why we place you with vetted partners and stay on your side.

The compliant contract, monthly payroll (income tax and Class One social security withholding via the FSS), employer contributions including the statutory bonus payments, statutory benefits and leave administration, and ongoing HR compliance. We give you one all-in monthly figure up front, with no hidden extras.

Yes, and most companies do once the headcount and permanence justify it. We manage the transition from EOR to your own Maltese Ltd, and can support the incorporation itself. Most use EOR for 12 to 24 months first.

Malta runs three separate 2026 rate tables depending on marital/parental status, computed as (chargeable income x rate) minus the subtraction shown, each progressive 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 sub-bands for married and parent taxpayers with one qualifying child versus two or more, each with its own lower thresholds inside the same rate structure — not detailed here, documented as an open item; we confirm the exact sub-band your hire falls into when we scope the engagement.

Ready to hire in Malta?

Tell us the role and we will come back with a compliant, all-in monthly cost and the right partner, usually within a day. No entity, no lock-in, no pitch, just the fastest compliant way to get your person working in Malta.

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.