COVID & remote working: Maltese employers get tough on unauthorised worker absenteeism

The Malta Employers Association has issued a directive to its members instructing them to treat any absence from work which has not been authorised by the employer as unpaid leave.

The Association stated that it is the prerogative of the employer to decide whether its employees should work remotely or not.

The MEA, which is registered as a union, announced the measure on Tuesday while tens of thousands of workers are stuck in quarantine as the country comes to grips with the highest number of total active cases by far.

It comes a day after the UĦM Voice of the Worker issued a directive to parents, who have no one to leave their children with, to work from home until schools and centres remain closed, until at least 10th January.

The UĦM said in a statement alternative arrangements should be made for them if their work does not permit, adding that the directive does not apply in case one of the parents is available to care for the children.

Over the last two weeks, COVID-19 cases in Malta have shot up, yet the number of cases requiring hospitalisation remains manageable.

On Monday, the MEA together with The Malta Chamber joined calls for all employees to be subject to mandatory vaccination.