Updates on the measures announced in the Economic Regeneration Plan

Following the Government of Malta’s announcement of the Economic Regeneration Plan on 8 June 2020, a number of updates in relation to the measures adopted to assist families and businesses that have been adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic have been published.

Updated annexes for the COVID Wage Supplement July – September

As from July 2020, the scope of the COVID Wage Supplement has been adjusted to continue supporting the hardest hit sectors and provide a tapering of aid to all other activities being particularly hit during the regeneration period. For this purpose, Malta Enterprise has issued a revised listed of NACE code categories for Annex A, B and C (the annexes may be accessed using the links below):

• Annex A - Businesses operating in specific sectors (tourist accommodation, travel agencies, language schools, event organisation and air transport) shall continue to receive a monthly COVID Wage Supplement of €800 for full-time employees and €500 for part-time employees.
• Annex B – Personal services and other businesses/self-employed persons who depend on local consumption that were operating in sectors listed under Annex A were moved to Annex B and shall continue to benefit from the partial COVID Wage Supplement under Annex B - this being a monthly COVID Wage Supplement of €160 for full-time employee and €100 for part-time employees (regard must also be had to the amount paid to self-employed persons and businesses based in Gozo).
• Annex C – Other previously supported businesses and self-employed persons operating in sectors not included in the updated Annex A or Annex B shall continue to receive the COVID Wage Supplement until 30 September 2020.

Students and pensioners shall be eligible to receive the COVID Wage Supplement as of July

With effect from July, previously ineligible pensioners and students duly registered as employed with JobsPlus since 9 of March 2020 may now also be considered eligible to receive the COVID Wage Supplement. These individuals may be added via a specific link in the update email that Malta Enterprise will send to current beneficiaries for July.

COVID Wage Supplement top-up exemption declaration procedures

The Department for Industrial and Employment Relations (the ‘DIER’) has provided guidance on the procedure to be followed by an employer when submitting top-up exemption declarations.

• Category 1 – Employers who are sole traders with a maximum of 5 employees, partnerships with up to a maximum of 5 employees or private companies with a maximum of 5 employees with a balance sheet total that does not exceed €100,000 are required to submit a Category 1 declaration to be signed only by a representative of the employer. The signature of a warranted accountant is not required.
• Category 2 - Employers who do not meet the criteria for Category 1 classification are required to submit the Category 2 declaration, to be signed by a representative of the employer and a warranted accountant. The warranted accountant signing off will be the accountant employed or contracted/engaged by the employer – in lieu of an employed accountant - to assemble and prepare the management financial information of the employer, utilised for the purposes of the declaration.
• Category 3 - Employers who do not fall within Categories 1 or 2 and who do not have an employed or contracted warranted accountant to assemble and prepare the management financial information of the employer for the purposes of this declaration are required to engage a warranted accountant to support the assessment of the employer that said employer was not in a financial position to commit to the monthly wage top-up payment of €400 per employee (over and above the COVID Wage Supplement). Employers in Category 3 are required to submit to the DIER the Category 1 declaration, which should be signed solely by a representative of the employer and a copy of the Agreed Upon Procedures Document (the ‘AUP’) signed by the warranted accountant they engaged.

Rent Refund Scheme

Applicants for the Rent Refund support measure are required to provide a valid rent agreement in order to benefit from this scheme. The rental agreement should specify a clear annual or monthly rental fee. Application procedures shall be initiated in mid-July and will be linked to the current COVID Wage Supplement application process.