PRIVATE SCHOOLS WAGES COUNCIL WAGE REGULATION ORDER *

SUBSIDIARY LEGISLATION 452.47

PRIVATE SCHOOLS WAGES COUNCIL

WAGE REGULATION ORDER *

18th May, 1977

LEGAL NOTICE 60 of 1977, as amended by Legal Notices 84 of 1977,

38 of 1978, 5 of 1979, 9 of 1980, 427 of 2007, 154 of 2010, 362 of 2012,

33, 444 of 2013, 482 of 2014, 5 of 2016, 97 and 383 of 2017 and 104 and

351 of 2019, 469 of 2020, 464 of 2021, 335 of 2022, 286 of 2023, 341 of

2024 and 288 of 2025.

The title of this Order is Private Schools Wages Council

Wage Regulation Order.

PART I

General

1. In this Schedule, unless the context otherwise requires -

"customary holidays" means the days (other than Sundays)

declared for the time being to be public holidays by or under the

National Holidays and other Public Holidays Act;

"hours of work" means the time on any day during which

employees are at the disposal of the employer, exclusive of the

intervals allowed for meals and rest;

"nursery school" means a school or a department of a school, in

which the predominant characteristic is that of child care;

"time and a half" and "double-time" mean respectively one and a

half times and twice the minimum time rate applicable to

employees.

*This Order has been repealed by Legal Notice 113 of 2026.

PART II

Teachers

2. This part does not apply to employees in nursery schools.

The provisions of the Schedule to this Order shall apply to

all employees in respect of whom the Private Schools Wages

Council operates.

In this part, unless the context otherwise requires -

"part-time teacher" means a teacher whose normal hours of

work, calculated on a weekly basis or on average over a period of

employment of up to one year, are less than the normal hours of

work of a comparable whole-time teacher and who is not a whole-

time teacher with reduced hours;

"teacher" includes Assistant Headmaster/Headmistress and

Assistant Head teacher;

"whole-time teacher" means a teacher who is deemed to be a

whole-time teacher in terms of any recognized conditions of

employment.

The minimum monthly remuneration for whole-time

teachers shall be related to a week of not more than twenty-seven

hours of work.

The minimum monthly remuneration payable to whole-

time teachers shall be one thousand and fifty eight euro and thirty one

cents (€1,058.31).

(1) Whole time teachers shall be entitled to all customary

holidays with full pay, but when any one of these holidays falls on a

day in which the school is normally closed they shall not be entitled

to a day off in lieu.

(2) Whole-time teachers shall be entitled to holidays with full

pay including the school holidays for Christmas, Carnival, Easter

and the Summer Holidays from the closing to the re-opening of

schools.

(1) After the completion of three months continuous

service, whole-time teachers shall in any scholastic year be entitled

to the equivalent in hours of fifteen school days sick leave on full

pay, less an amount equal to the sum set for sickness benefit

entitlement at the rate established under the Social Security Act,

and part-time employees shall have a pro rata entitlement to sick

leave in hours on full pay, less an amount equal to the sum set for

sickness benefit entitlement at the rate established under the Social

Security Act, which amount is also to be calculated on a pro rata

basis

Provided that -

(a) the first three days of any claim for sick leave shall be

paid in full by the employer;

(b) a medical certificate covering the period of absence is

produced to the employer on the day of return to work

or, if such period of absence is longer than seven days,

within seven days of the onset of sick leave absence;

(c) employees in receipt of a social security pension in

respect of retirement or widowhood in terms of the

Social Security Act shall, for the purpose of

calculating the sick leave pay due, be deemed to have

received an amount equal to the sum set for sickness

benefit entitlement at the rate established under the

Social Security Act.

(2) After the completion of three months continuous service,

whole-time teachers shall in any scholastic year be entitled to the

equivalent in hours of a further fifteen school days sick leave on

half pay, less an amount equal to half the sum set for sickness

benefit entitlement at the rate established under the Social Security

Act, and part-time employees shall have a pro rata entitlement to

sick leave in hours on half pay, less an amount equal to half the

sum set for sickness benefit entitlement at the rate established

under the Social Security Act, which amount is also to be

calculated on a pro rata basis

Provided that -

(a) the first three days of any claim for sick leave shall be

paid at half pay by the employer;

(b) a medical certificate covering the period of absence is

produced to the employer on the day of return to work

or, if such period of absence is longer than seven days,

within seven days of the onset of sick leave absence;

(c) employees in receipt of a social security pension in

respect of retirement or widowhood in terms of the

Social Security Act shall, for the purpose of

calculating the sick leave pay due, be deemed to have

received an amount equal to half the sum set for

sickness benefit entitlement at the rate established

under the Social Security Act.

(3) The employer may require a medical certificate by his own

physician to certify incapacity for work during the period of

absence.

(4) The sick leave entitlement granted by virtue of this

paragraph shall be calculated on the basis provided for annual leave

as specified in regulation 8(1) of the Organisation of Working Time

Regulations.

The minimum remuneration payable to part-time teachers

shall not be less than the proportionate rate of the minimum

remuneration payable to a whole-time teacher, calculated on the

basis of a twenty-seven hour week.

Non-teaching duties allotted to teachers outside their

normal teaching hours shall be remunerated at one euro and sixty-

three cents (1.63).

Whole-time teachers shall be entitled to the same injury

leave, bereavement leave, special leave and jury service leave as

provided in Part IV in respect of other whole-time employees.

PART III

Other Employees

In this Part of the Schedule, unless the context otherwise

requires -

"employee" means an employee who does not fall under Part II

of this Schedule;

"part-time employee" means an employee whose normal hours of

work, calculated on a weekly basis or on average over a period of

employment of up to one year, are less than the normal hours of

work of a comparable whole-time employee and who is not a

whole-time employee with reduced hours;

"whole-time employee" means an employee who is deemed to be

a whole-time employee in terms of any recognized conditions of

employment.

The minimum weekly remuneration payable to whole-time

employees shall be related to a week of sixty hours of work in the

case of watchmen or of forty-four hours of work in the case of other

employees.

(1) The minimum remuneration payable to whole-time

employees, other than maids employed in schools which provide

full residential facilities to students, or watchmen shall be two

hundred and thirty four euro and sixty eight cents (€234.68).

(2) The minimum weekly remuneration payable to whole-time

maids employed in schools which provide full residential facilities

to students shall be as follows

At age 16 years .......................................................... €219.82

At age 17 years .......................................................... €222.66

At age 18 years or over .............................................. €229.44

and one year thereafter ............................................... €231.77.

(3) The minimum weekly remuneration payable to whole-time

watchmen shall be -

(a) for work performed indoors........................ €229.44

(b) for work performed out of doors ................ €231.77.

(4) Whole-time employees, other than watchmen, who are

employed for the full period of a scholastic year, and whose

employment is terminated by the employer at the commencement

of, or during, the summer holidays, otherwise than for having

reached the age of retirement, shall be entitled to receive a

compensation equivalent to the basic minimum remuneration to

w h i c h s u c h e m p l o y e e s w o u l d ha v e b e e n e n t i t l e d h a d t h e i r

employment not been terminated, calculated for the period during

such holidays starting from the date of termination of employment

up to the reopening of schools and payable in the same manner as

the weekly remuneration used to be paid.

There shall be allowed as minimum weekly rest -

(a) one day to whole-time watchmen, and

(b) one and a half days to other whole-time employees.

Whole-time employees, other than watchmen, shall be

allowed daily intervals for meals and rest of not less, in the

aggregate, than one hour.

Whole-time employees shall be entitled, in every calendar

year, to -

(a) all customary holidays with full pay, and

(b) after three months in employment, vacation leave of

such number of working days with full pay as is

equivalent to the number of working days as that

particular employee should normally attend to work

during a period of four weeks

Provided that whole-time employees who have

been in employment for less than one year shall be

entitled to such part of the said vacation leave as is in

proportion to the number of months in employment

Provided further that vacation leave shall be

availed of only during the summer school holidays.

(1) After the completion of three months continuous

service, whole-time employees shall in every calendar year be

entitled to the equivalent in hours of ten days sick leave on full pay,

less an amount equal to the sum set for sickness benefit entitlement

at the rate established under the Social Security Act, and part-time

employees shall have a pro rata entitlement to sick leave in hours

on full pay, less an amount equal to the sum set for sickness benefit

entitlement at the rate established under the Social Security Act,

which amount is also to be calculated on a pro rata basis

Provided that -

(a) the first three days of any claim for sick leave shall be

paid in full by the employer;

(b) a medical certificate covering the period of absence is

produced to the employer on the day of return to work

or, if such period of absence is longer than seven days,

within seven days of the onset of sick leave absence;

(c) employees in receipt of a social security pension in

respect of retirement or widowhood in terms of the

Social Security Act shall, for the purpose of

calculating the sick leave pay due, be deemed to have

received an amount equal to the sum set for sickness

benefit entitlement at the rate established under the

Social Security Act.

(2) After the completion of three months continuous service,

whole-time employees shall in every calendar year be entitled to

the equivalent in hours of a further ten days sick leave on half pay,

less an amount equal to half the sum set for sickness benefit

entitlement at the rate established under the Social Security Act,

and part-time employees shall have a pro rata entitlement to sick

leave in hours on half pay, less an amount equal to half the sum set

for sickness benefit entitlement at the rate established under the

Social Security Act, which amount is also to be calculated on a pro

rata basis

Provided that -

(a) the first three days of any claim for sick leave shall be

paid at half pay by the employer;

(b) a medical certificate covering the period of absence is

produced to the employer on the day of return to work

or, if such period of absence is longer than seven days,

within seven days of the onset of sick leave absence;

(c) employees in receipt of a social security pension in

respect of retirement or widowhood in terms of the

Social Security Act shall, for the purpose of

calculating the sick leave pay due, be deemed to have

received an amount equal to half the sum set for

sickness benefit entitlement at the rate established

under the Social Security Act.

(3) After the completion of three months continuous service,

whole-time employees shall in every calendar year be entitled to

the equivalent in hours of a further ten days sick leave without pay,

and part-time employees shall have a pro rata entitlement to such

sick leave without pay.

(4) The employer may require a medical certificate by his own

physician to certify incapacity for work during the period of

absence.

(5) The sick leave entitlement granted by virtue of this

paragraph shall be calculated on the basis provided for annual leave

as specified in regulation 8(1) of the Organisation of Working Time

Regulations.

Except in the case where schools provide full residential

facilities to students, where whole-time employees work on a roster

approved by both the employers and the employees, whole-time

employees shall be entitled to overtime rates as follows

(a) in the case of whole-time watchmen -

(i)

for all time worked on a day of rest or on a

customary holiday ......................... double time;

(ii) for all time worked in excess of sixty hours in

any one week ............................ time and a half;

(b) in the case of other whole-time employees -

(i)

for all time worked on a customary holiday or

other public holiday ...................... double time;

(ii) for all time worked in excess of forty-four hours

in any one week commencing on Monday up to

Saturday ................................... time and a half.

Whole-time employees shall be entitled to the same injury

leave, bereavement leave, special leave and jury service leave as

are provided in Part IV of this Schedule in respect of other whole-

time employees.

Part-time employees shall be entitled to a minimum hourly

rate calculated pro rata in accordance with the provisions of

paragraphs 12 and 13 of this Schedule.

PART IV

Other Leave Entitlement

A whole-time employee shall be entitled to one year injury

leave on full pay, less the full amount of any injury benefit to which

such employee may be entitled in terms of the Social Security Act,

if he is injured during the actual discharge of his duty and such

injury is not due to any contributory negligence on his part or to the

c o nt r a v e n t io n b y hi m of an y s a f e t y r u le s la id d ow n b y t h e

management.

Whole-time employees shall be allowed two days leave

with full pay in the case of the death of any of the following

relations: the wife, husband, mother, father (or the person who at

t h a t t i m e w a s i n f a c t a c t i n g as t h e m o t h e r o r f a t h e r o f t h e

employee), son, daughter, brother or sister.

A whole-time employee shall be entitled to three working

days leave on full pay on the occasion of his marriage and to one

working day leave on full pay on the occasion of the birth of a child

to his wife.

A whole-time employee called for jury service shall be

allowed all the necessary time off without loss of pay to attend the

Courts.

PART V

Supplementary

In cases where the retiring age of a male employee, both

teacher and non-teacher, is expected at the age of sixty years, such

employee shall be given the opportunity by his employer to retain

his employment beyond this age at least until the age of sixty-one

years, provided the employee in question shall still be allowed, if he

so wishes, to retire at the age of sixty years.

(1) The employer shall have the right to charge not more

than seventy cents (0.70) for every day that he, in agreement with

the employee, provides one main meal to the employee.

(2) For the purpose of this paragraph, "main meal" means lunch

or dinner.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Order, but is intended to indicate its

applicability).

The Private Schools Wages Council operates in respect of all

employees engaged under a contract of service in all schools (other

than those schools established by and managed under the

Government or the University of Malta) to the exclusion however of

such members of the staff in respect of whom an individual salary or

allowance is paid by the Government to the representative of the

religious association of which those members form part.