ACT No. XXXIV of 2021 AN ACT to amend the Persons with Disability (Employment) Act, Cap. 210.

I assent.

(L.S.)

GEORGE VELLA

President

25th June, 2021

ACT No. XXXIV of 2021

AN ACT to amend the Persons with Disability (Employment)

Act, Cap. 210.

BE IT ENACTED by the President, by and with the advice and

consent of the House of Representatives, in this present Parliament

assembled, and by the authority of the same as follows:-

The short title of this Act is the Persons with Disability

(Employment) (Amendment) Act, 2021 and this Act shall be read and

construed as one with the Persons with Disability (Employment) Act,

hereinafter referred to as "the principal Act".

Article 2 of the principal Act shall be amended by the

following

(a) the definition "person with disability" shall

be substituted by the following

" "person with disability" shall have, for

any person over compulsory school age, the same

meaning assigned to it in article 2 of Part I of the

Equal Opportunities (Persons with Disability)

Act; and the word "disability", with respect to any

person, shall be construed accordingly;";

(b) in the Maltese text in the definition "persuna

għamja" the words "persuna għamja" shall be

substituted by the words "persuna nieqsa mid-dawl";

(c) in the Maltese text in the definition "persuna

truxa li titkellem" the words "persuna truxa li titkellem"

shall be substituted by the words "persuna nieqsa mis-

smigħ li titkellem";

(d) in the Maltese text in the definition "persuna

truxa u muta" the words "persuna truxa u muta" shall be

substituted by the words "persuna nieqsa mis-smigħ u li

ma titkellimx";

(e) the definition "placement medical officer"

shall be substituted by the following

" "placement officer" means any suitably

qualified officer authorized in writing by the

entity responsible for the register;"; and

(f) the words "placement medical officer" and

the words "placement medical officers", wherever they

occur in the principal Act, shall be substituted by the

words "placement officer" and "placement officers"

respectively.

In sub-article (2) of article 3 of the principal Act for the Amendment of

words "adequate medical supervision" there shall be substituted the article

principal Act.

words "adequate supervision as and when necessary".

Sub-article (2) of article 8 of the principal Act shall be Amendment of

article 8 of the

amended as follows

principal Act.

(a)

in paragraph (c) thereof, for the words "is not

ordinarily resident in Malta;" there shall be substituted the

words "is not ordinarily resident in Malta."; and

(b)

paragraph (d) thereof shall be deleted.

Article 15 of the principal Act shall be amended by the Amendment of

article 15 of the

principal Act.

(a)

in sub-article (7) thereof, the words "chairman" and

"deputy chairman" shall be substituted by the words

"chairperson" and "deputy chairperson" respectively;

(b) in sub-article (8) thereof, for the words "not less

than twenty persons:" there shall be substituted the words "not

less than twenty (20) persons."; and

(c)

the proviso to sub-article (8) thereof shall be

deleted.

Article 16 of the principal Act shall be amended as

(a)

sub-article (5A) thereof shall be substituted by the

following

"(5A) A person who fails to respect the quota

referred to in sub-article (2), as determined in accordance

with sub-article (5), shall be required to make an annual

contribution as determined by the Corporation

Provided that the annual contribution shall be two

thousand and four hundred euro (€2,400) for every person

with disability that should be in his employment, to a

maximum of ten thousand euro (€10,000) for any one

person who so fails to respect the quota

Provided further that the maximum amount of ten

thousand euro (€10,000) referred to in the above proviso

shall not apply to a group of companies which is duly

registered with the relevant authorities.";

(b) sub-article (5B) thereof shall be substituted by the

following

"(5B) The Minister may, following consultations

with the Corporation, by means of regulations amend the

amounts referred to in sub-article (5A)."; and

(c)

immediately after sub-article (6) thereof there shall

be added the following new sub-article

"(7) Particular employers, like temporary work

agencies, temporary service contractors, and companies

with fluctuating or seasonal levels of employment, shall be

entitled, for quota calculation purposes, to establish the

true size of their workforce by counting a temporary

employee as a fraction of 1 in mathematical proportion to

the number of days actually worked by such employee

from 1st January to the 31st December.".

In sub-article (2) of article 21 of the principal Act for the

words "adequate medical supervision" there shall be substituted the

words "adequate supervision".

In paragraph (a) of article 24 of the principal Act the words Amendment of

article 24 of the

"with persons not handicapped by disability" shall be deleted.

principal Act.

In paragraph (a) of sub-article (2) of article 25 of the Amendment of

principal Act, the words "physical or mental disability of the person article

25 of the

principal Act.

with disability" shall be substituted by the words "the disability of that

person with a disability and his particular circumstances".

Article 26 of the principal Act shall be substituted by the Substitution of

article 26 of the

following

principal Act.

" Additional

(1) An employer who does not

provisions

employ the number of persons with disability in

relating to

accordance with article 16, but who can prove, to

determination

of quota.

the satisfaction of the Corporation, that he is

offering equivalent hours of work to persons with

disability through an in-service or an outsourced

work arrangement or is actually providing work

to a person with disability who is officially

employed by another employer shall be deemed

to satisfy the quota referred to in article 16.

(2) Recruitment efforts, work trials and

discussions with entities towards the employment

of persons with disability will not exonerate an

employer from the obligations referred to in

article 16.

(3) If a person with disability resigns

within one year of employment, that employee

shall still be considered for the purposes of

determining the quota for the year in which

employment commenced.

(4) Employees who, on the date of the

coming into force of this Act, are not registered as

persons with disability, but who are medically

certified to be within the definition of disability in

accordance with this Act, may be acknowledged

by the Corporation, only for the purposes of an

employer’s quota calculation

Provided that any such person shall not

become eligible for incentives of any kind until

he is certified as Registered Disabled Persons

(RDPs) by a placement officer as prescribed in

this Act.".

11. In article 27 of the principal Act immediately after the Amendment of

word "provisions" in article 27 of the principal Act there shall be article

27 of the

principal Act.

added the words "of this Act".

12. Article 29 of the principal Act shall be amended as

(a)

in sub-article (1) thereof the words "or to

imprisonment not exceeding three months or to both such fine

and imprisonment" shall be deleted;

(b) sub-article (2) thereof shall be re-numbered as sub-

article (3); and

(c)

immediately after sub-article (1) thereof there shall

be added the following new sub-article

"(2) Failure to pay the contribution referred to in

article 16(5A) within the time established by the

Corporation shall be considered as an offence under this

Act and, upon conviction, a person accused of failure to

pay the contribution shall become liable to the payment of

the contribution and the punishment established in sub-

article (1).".

Passed by the House of Representatives at Sitting No. 476 of the

21st June, 2021.

ANĠLU FARRUGIA

Speaker

RAYMOND SCICLUNA

Clerk of the House of Representatives

€0.54