Leave for Medically Assisted Procreation National Standard

L.N. 263 of 2020

EMPLOYMENT AND INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS ACT

(CAP. 452)

Leave for Medically Assisted Procreation National Standard

(Amendment) Order, 2020

IN EXERCISE of the powers conferred by article 4 of the

Employment and Industrial Relations Act, the Minister within the

Office of the Prime Minister, has made the following order:-

The title of this order is Leave for Medically Assisted

Procreation National Standard (Amendment) Order, 2020 and this

order shall be read and construed as one with the Leave for Medically

Assisted Procreation National Standard Order, hereinafter referred to

as "the principal order".

Sub-article (1) of article 2 of the principal order, shall be

amended as follows

(a) the definition "medically assisted

procreation"

thereof, shall be substituted by the following

" "medically assisted procreation" means all

treatments or procedures that include the in vitro handling

of human oocytes, spermatozoa or embryos for establishing

a pregnancy. This includes, but is not limited to, intra-

uterine insemination, in vitro fertilization, intracytoplasmic

sperm injection, embryo transfer, gamete, germinal tissue

and embryo cryo-preservation and oocyte and embryo

donation;"; and

(b) the definition "prospective parent" thereof, shall be

substituted by the following

" "prospective parent" means any person,

regardless of gender or sexual orientation, who

has attained the age of majority and is a receiver

or user of the medically assisted procreation

techniques regulated under the Embryo

Protection Act.".

Immediately after article 3 of the principal order, there shall

be added the following new articles

(1) A single prospective parent, who is in

employment and who undergoes the process of

medically assisted procreation, provided that the

process of the transfer of the embryo is undertaken on

the single prospective parent’s own body, whether in

or outside Malta, shall be entitled to sixty (60) hours of

leave for medically assisted procreation with full pay,

which leave shall be paid by the employer.

(2) Leave for medically assisted procreation

shall be utilized at any time during the process of

medically assisted procreation

Provided that, there is nothing precluding

the prospective parent from utilising the

aforementioned hours of leave in a non-continuous

manner

Provided also that, the entitlement to sixty

(60) hours of leave for medically assisted procreation

with full pay shall be granted for every process of

medically assisted procreation, up to a maximum of

three (3) processes.

(3) It shall be the responsibility of the

employee who is a prospective parent and who

requests leave for medically assisted procreation in

terms of this article, to provide proof to the employer

that the employee is the receiving person.

(1) Where two (2) prospective parents

undergo the process of medically assisted procreation,

whether in or outside Malta, and one (1) of the

prospective parents is a human oocyte donor and the

other prospective parent is the receiving person, both

(2) prospective parents, who are in employment, shall

be entitled to sixty (60) hours of leave for medically

assisted procreation with full pay, which leave shall be

paid by the employer.

(2) Leave for medically assisted procreation

shall be utilized at any time during the process of

medically assisted procreation

Provided that, there is nothing precluding

the prospective parent from utilising the

aforementioned hours of leave in a non-continuous

manner

Provided also that, the entitlement to one-

hundred and twenty (120) hours of leave for medically

assisted procreation with full pay shall be granted one

time for the human oocyte process.

(3) It shall be the responsibility of the

employee who is a prospective parent and who

requests leave for medically assisted procreation in

terms of this article, to provide proof to the employer

that the employee is the prospective parent undergoing

treatment.

(1) A human oocyte donor, who is in

employment, and who is not a prospective parent in

terms of this Order, shall still be entitled to sixty (60)

hours of leave with full pay, which leave shall be paid

by the employer.

(2) Such leave shall be utilized at any time

during the process of human oocyte donation

Provided that, there is nothing precluding

the human oocyte donor from utilising the

aforementioned hours of leave in a non-continuous

manner

Provided also that, without prejudice to the

rights of the receiving person in accordance with this

Order, the entitlement to sixty (60) hours of leave as

provided by this article, shall be granted one time for

the human oocyte process.

(3) It shall be the responsibility of the

employee who requests leave for human oocyte

donation in terms of this article, to provide proof to the

employer that the employee is undergoing fertility

treatment.".

€0.27