Employment Agencies (Amendment) Regulations, 2010

L.N. 540 of 2010

EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING SERVICES ACT

(CAP. 343)

Employment Agencies (Amendment) Regulations, 2010

IN exercise of the powers conferred by article 25 of the

Employment and Training Services Act, the Minister of Education,

Employment and the Family has made the following regulations –

The title of these regulations is the Employment

Agencies (Amendment) Regulations, 2010 and they shall be read

and construed as one with the Employment Agencies Regulations,

1995, hereinafter referred to as “the principal regulations”.

In regulation 2 of the principal regulations

(a) in the definition “Director”, for the words “means

the Director of Labour and includes any officer of the

Department of Labour who is authorised by the Director

to act on his behalf;” there shall be substituted the words

“means the Director of Industrial and Employment Relations

and includes any officer of the Department of Industrial and

Employment Relations who is authorised by the Director to

act on his behalf”; and

(b) in the definition “licencee”, for the words “includes

also any person to whom a licence is transferred upon the

death of the holder in terms of article 23 (9) of the Act;”

there shall be substituted the words “means the holder of a

licence to conduct an employment agency or an employment

business;”.

In regulation 3 of the principal regulations

(a) for sub-regulation (1) thereof there shall be

substituted the following

“(1) In terms of article 23 of the Act, no person

shall carry on an employment agency or an employment

business unless

(a) he is the holder of a valid licence granted

by the Director authorizing him to carry on such

an agency or business in premises specified in the

licence; or

(b) he is lawfully established to conduct

business as an employment agency in a Member

State, and has informed the Director that he is

providing services of an employment agency in

Malta within five working days from the date of

the commencement of such activity.

Provided that for the purposes of these

regulations, “lawfully established” shall be read

and construed in terms of the Services (Internal

Market) Act

Provided further that the Director may impose

any necessary requirements on persons referred to

in paragraph (b) in terms of the Services (Internal

Market) Act and it shall be an obligation on persons

referred to in paragraph (b) to comply.”;

(b) For sub-regulation (2) thereof, there shall be

substituted the following

“(2) No person shall be qualified to be granted

a licence to conduct any employment agency or

employment business in terms of paragraph (a) of sub-

regulation (1) of this regulation unless he is twenty-

five years of age or over and has displayed a notice of

his intention to run the employment agency and has

advertised notice of the application in accordance with

sub-regulation (2A) of this regulation.”; and

(c) Immediately after sub-regulation (2) thereof, there

shall be inserted the following new sub-regulation

“(2A) The procedure which is to be followed in

terms of subregulation (2) of this regulation shall be as

follows

(a) an applicant for a licence in terms

of paragraph (a) of sub-regulation (1) of this

regulation shall, not less than twenty-one days

before making his application –

(i) display notice of the application in

a place where it can conveniently be read by

the public on or near the premises at which

the employment agency or employment

business is or is to be carried out and take

such steps as he reasonably can to keep that

notice so displayed for a period of twenty-one

days; and

(ii) advertise notice of the application

in two daily newspapers; and

(b) a notice under this regulation shall

state the name and address of the applicant and,

where the applicant is a company or other body

of persons, the company’s number and registered

office and the address of the premises at which

the employment agency or employment business

is or is to be carried out, which premises must

be suitable in terms of regulation 7A of these

regulations.”.

In regulation 4 of the principal regulations

(a) in sub-paragraph (iv) of paragraph (c) of sub-

regulation (1) thereof, for the words “as required by the

provisions of article 23 of the Act” there shall substituted the

words “as required by the provisions of regulation 3 (2A) of

these regulations”; and

(b) immediately after sub-regulation (3) thereof, there

shall be inserted the following new sub-regulation

“(4) Every notification forwarded to the Director

in terms of regulation 3 (1) (b) shall include

(a) the name of the employment agency

and its registered address which have to be in a

Member State;

(b) the name, the address and the number

of a personal identification document of a contact

person authorized by the employment agency

or business to carry out the functions of the

employment agency or business in Malta and proof

that the person is legally established in another

Member State; and

(c) the address of the place in Malta where

the activity is proposed to be carried out.”.

Regulation 5 of the principal regulations shall be

substituted by the following

“5. No application for a licence under these regulations

shall be entertained by the Director unless it is accompanied

by a certificate, signed by or on behalf of the applicant,

stating that the applicant has complied with the provisions of

regulation 3 (2A) and a copy of the newspapers containing

notice of the application in accordance with the same

regulation.”.

In regulation 6 of the principal regulations

(a) for sub-regulation (1) thereof, there shall be

substituted the following

“(1) A licence to carry on an employment agency

or an employment business in terms of regulation 3 (1)

(a) of these regulations shall be issued by the Director

for a period of one year (or for such longer period, not

exceeding five years, as the Director may specify in

any particular case) beginning with the date specified

therein for its commencement. Such licence shall be

renewed for further periods each of one year subject to

the continuous fulfilment of the requirements laid down

in the Act and in these regulations

Provided that when a request for renewal has been

received prior to the expiry of a licence in force, the

licence shall remain in force until a decision is taken by

the Director with regard to the request for renewal of the

licence.”;

(b) Immediately after sub-regulation (2) thereof, there

shall be inserted the following proviso

“Provided that licences shall be issued by the

Director within the period of twenty working days

from the receipt of the application and the necessary

documents in terms of these regulations provided that

all the requirements laid down by the Act and by these

regulations have been complied with. A lack of response

within the aforementioned period of twenty working

days shall not be deemed to imply a tacit approval of the

applicant’s application.”;

(c) for sub-regulation (3) thereof, there shall be

substituted the following

“(3) The holder of a licence granted by virtue of

these regulations or the person mentioned in regulation

3 (1) (b) of these regulations shall keep displayed on

the premises to which the licence relates or at which the

business of an employment agency is carried out, as the

case may be, in such a position that it can be readily

seen by persons resorting to those premises –

(a) the licence granted by virtue of these

regulations, if applicable; and

(b) a copy of these regulations which

shall be available for inspection by any interested

person

Provided that failure to comply with the

provisions of this sub-regulation constitutes an

offence against these regulations.”;

(d) for sub-regulation (4) thereof, there shall be

substituted the following

“(4) It shall be a condition of any licence that a

competent person is available at all times to manage the

employment agency or employment business, provided

that the licensee may nominate one or more competent

persons to act as substitutes for the person nominated by

him, if such person is not at any time available for any

justifiable reason. Failure to comply with the provisions

of this sub-regulation constitutes an offence against

these regulations.”;

(e) immediately after sub-regulation (4) thereof, there

shall be inserted the following new sub-regulation

“(4A) The person mentioned in regulation

3 (1) (b) of these regulations shall ensure that a

competent person is available at all times to manage the

employment agency or employment business, provided

that such person may nominate one or more competent

persons to act as substitutes for the person nominated by

him, if such person is not at any time available for any

justifiable reason. Failure to comply with the provisions

of this sub-regulation constitutes an offence against

these regulations.”;

(f) in sub-regulation (5) thereof

(i) immediately after the words “the licensee”,

there shall be inserted the words “or the person

mentioned in regulation 3 (1) (b) of these regulations”;

and

(ii) immediately after the sub-regulation, there

shall be inserted the following provisos

“Provided that nothing in this sub-regulation

shall be taken as authorising the holder of a licence

to carry on any business in accordance with

regulation 3 (1) (a) of these regulations otherwise

than in accordance with the provisions of the said

licence

Provided further that every licence granted in

terms of these regulations shall be endorsed with

notice of the effect of this regulation.”; and

(g) sub-regulations (6) and (7) thereof shall be deleted

and sub-regulations (8) and (9) shall be renumbered as sub-

regulations (6) and (7) respectively.

In regulation 7 of the principal regulations

(a) in sub-regulation (1) thereof, immediately after the

words “nominated by a licensee” there shall be inserted the

words “or by the person mentioned in regulation 3 (1) (b) of

these regulations”;

(b) in sub-regulation (2) thereof, immediately after the

words “or by the licensee” there shall be inserted the words

“or by the person mentioned in regulation 3 (1) (b) of these

regulations”;

(c) in sub-regulation (3) thereof, immediately after the

words “or of the licensee” there shall be inserted the words

“or of the person mentioned in regulation 3 (1) (b) of these

regulations”, and for the words “It shall be a condition of

every licence” there shall be substituted the words “In cases

falling under regulation 3 (1) (a), it shall be a condition of

every licence”; and

(d) in sub-regulation (4) thereof, after the words “or

any licensee” there shall be inserted the words “or any person

mentioned in regulation 3 (1) (b) of these regulations”, and

immediately after the words “or the licensee” there shall be

inserted the words “or the person mentioned in regulation 3

(1) (b) of these regulations”.

Immediately after regulation 7 of the principal

regulations, there shall be inserted the following new regulation

7A. For the purposes of these regulations,

“Suitability of

Premises.

premises shall be deemed to be suitable if the premises

concerned have access for persons with disability, have

a segregated area designated as a waiting room and also

include an office room where interviews could be carried

out in private.”.

In regulation 8 of the principal regulations

(a) for the words “The Director may refuse or revoke

an application, as the case may be,” there shall be substituted

the words “The Director may refuse an application for a

licence or revoke a licence, as the case may be,”;

(b) for paragraph (b) thereof, there shall be substituted

the following

“(b) that the applicant or the person nominated by

him as a competent person to manage the employment

agency or employment business does not possess the

qualifications as provided by these regulations or is not

in possession of a clean police conduct; or”;

(c) paragraph (c) thereof shall be deleted and

substituted by the following

“(c) that the premises where the employment

agency or employment business is proposed to be

carried out are unsuitable in terms of regulation 7A

of these regulations, or where any of the employment

services contemplated in the application for a licence or

in the licence is proposed to be carried out, as the case

may be, is in breach of any law or regulation; or”; and

(d) immediately after paragraph (g) thereof, there shall

be inserted the following new paragraph

“(h) that the employment agency or employment

business has been or is being improperly conducted.”.

For regulation 10 of the principal regulations there shall

be substituted the following

“10. (1) No payments or charges shall be demanded

or levied on any applicant for employment in consideration of

such employment or in consideration of registration therefor.

(2) No deductions shall be made from the wages

of any employee for any services rendered by an employment

agency or employment business.”.

In regulation 11 of the principal regulations

(a) in paragraph (a) thereof, immediately after the

words “ the licence number” there shall be inserted the words

“or any other identification number issued by the Director”;

(b) in paragraph (b) thereof

(i) after the words “may exempt the licensee”

there shall be inserted the words “or the person

mentioned in regulation 3 (1) (b) of these regulations”,

and

(ii) after the words “The licensee”, there shall

be inserted the words “or the person mentioned in

regulation 3 (1) (b) of these regulations”.

(c) in paragraph (d) thereof, in both instances, after

the words “The licensee”, there shall be inserted the words

“or the person mentioned in regulation 3 (1) (b) of these

regulations, as the case may be, or in the absence of the

licensee or the person mentioned in regulation 3 (1) (b) of

these regulations, the competent person”.

In regulation 15 of the principal regulations, for the

words “The Director shall have at any time the right to examine

the books, including any records of any licensed employment

agency or employment business,” there shall be substituted the

words “The Director shall have at any time the right to examine the

books, including any records of any licensed employment agency

or employment business or of any other employment agency or

employment business carrying out its activities in Malta in terms of

the Act and these regulations”.

In regulation 16 of the principal regulations, the words

“in virtue of a license issued under these regulations” shall be

deleted.

In paragraph 11, sub-paragraph (i) of the First Schedule

to the principal regulations, the words “as required in terms

of article 23 of the Act” there shall be substituted the words “as

required in terms of regulation 3 (2A) of these regulations”.

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€0.93