Employers face €1.4 million in penalties over disability quotas

A total of €1,440,800 in fines have been issued to employers who failed to adhere to legislation requiring companies employing more than 20 workers to maintain a disabled employee quota of at least 2%.

MaltaToday is informed that invoices were issued to non-conforming employers towards the end of November and reminders will be sent during February. 

Data provided by JobsPlus, the government’s employment agency, also show that several employers chose to pay “a contribution” – employers who fail to adhere to the legislation are requested to make an annual contribution, capped at €10,000 per employer, for every disabled person they should be employing.

To date, JobsPlus collected €442,400.

The data show that by October 2016, 2,764 persons with disability were in employment, compared to the 2,466 persons registered in December 2015, registering an increase of 298 individuals.

In total, 486 companies employing more than 20 employees are in conformity with the law. However, 575 employers remain in breach of the law, and are facing over €1.4 million in fines.

Yet there are over 400 persons with disability registering for work, with JobsPlus confirming that 349 persons were seeking full-time employment whilst 125 were registering for part-time work.

Further data provided show that 250 employers have submitted 268 vacancies, with 147 of them being filled; 51 vacancies are currently being processed whilst 70 vacancies remained unfilled. It transpires that 40 companies stopped the recruitment process whilst 18 opted to change the vacancy.

Moreover, there were 12 cases where the qualifications or skills of the persons with disability did not match the employer’s requirement or the personal characteristics did not match the employer’s expectations. Working conditions, such as hours and shifts, also played a part. 

“The challenge in placing persons with disability in employment is more related to the acceptance that such individuals cannot be productively efficient as ‘normal’ employees rather than an issue with skills,” JobsPlus executive chairperson Clyde Caruana told MaltaToday.

Although the relevant law was enacted in 1967, it was only in 2015 that the government moved to enforce the 2% quota. Its lax implementation by employers and the persistently high unemployment rate moved parliament to pass a law setting fines for every disabled person companies should be employing.

The fines – or rather the “contributions” as JobsPlus calls them – started at €800 for every person, rising to €1,600 per person in 2016 and reaching €2,400 in 2017.

The fees are capped at €10,000 per company, and the money generated through them will go to a national fund for the integration of disabled people.  

In order to support the implementation of the law, the Lino Spiteri Foundation was set up: the public-private partnership helps to match persons with disability with jobs that match their skills. It also aims at supporting disabled employees through job coaches.

The Malta Employers Association had at first urged the government not to fine companies which fail to recruit persons with a disability, insisting that this would not always be possible due to logistical and technical difficulties.

But last year, a memorandum of understanding signed by JobsPLus, the Chamber of Commerce and the Malta Employers Association sought to give impetus to their employment.

Based on 13 points, the agreement lays out the foundation that will lead to further social inclusion at the place of work. Employers employing a disabled person are exempt from paying the employer’s share of social security contribution and are also entitled to claim a fiscal incentive equivalent to 25% of the disabled person’s basic wage – up to a maximum of €4,500 for each disabled person.

According to the 2015 annual report issued by the National Commission for Persons with Disability, there were 16,058 persons with disability in Malta. Those aged between 17 and 59 amounted to 5,475 persons.