Maltese workers work an average of 33.8 hours a week

On average, workers in Malta put in 1,760 hours per year (or 33.8 hours per week) compared to the EU average of 1,714 hours (or 33 hours per week), as shown in a report by Eurofound.

The study by the EU Agency for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions reveals that employees in France, Denmark, and Sweden work the fewest hours, primarily because they have shorter weekly work hours. While the average weekly work hours in Malta are calculated at 40 hours, in France, this drops to 35.7 hours. In contrast, employees in Estonia, Hungary, and Poland work an average of nearly 1,850 hours per year mainly due to having less days of leave.

A table in the report calculates the “average collectively agreed normal annual working time” in each member state for 2022.

The figures represent the number of hours the average full-time worker in each country should work according to legislation and collective agreements in place. These figures do not consider factors such as overtime, other forms of time off, or leave, such as sick leave or parental and maternity leave.

To calculate annual working hours, the figure for the average collectively agreed normal weekly hours is multiplied by 52 to provide a total for the entire year. Where collectively agreed weekly hours are not available, the maximum statutory working week is used instead.

In Malta’s case, the figure is an estimate based on the fact that most collective agreements specify a normal weekly working time of 40 hours. From this total annual figure, the average collectively agreed paid annual leave is subtracted. The number of hours of annual public holidays is also subtracted from the total annual working hours, excluding those falling on Sundays. The study also takes into account that the number of public holidays may vary from year to year, especially in countries that do not grant a replacement holiday when a public holiday falls on a weekend.

The study also mentions developments in Malta, where the basic minimum duration of paid annual leave was increased in 2022 from 192 hours (equivalent to 24 working days) to 224 hours (28 working days) to compensate for public holidays falling on weekends.

The study further shows that the combined total duration of agreed annual leave and public holidays varies greatly across the EU. In 2022, it ranged from 28 days in Estonia, Hungary, Belgium, and the Netherlands to 38 days in Denmark and 40 days in Malta. The difference between the smallest and largest figures is equivalent to more than two working weeks.