Temping agency workers to have right for equal pay and work conditions as of 2025

From the start of 2025, workers who are employed by temping and outsourcing agencies will have the right to equal pay and work conditions as other employees working in the company they are assigned to.

The legal notice will come into force in January 2025, yet Government made the announcement on Monday (today). The “Equal Pay for Work of Equal Value” directive will be published in the Government Gazette on Tuesday, providing employers over six months to adjust.

Despite this, employers can start applying the law immediately should they want to do so.

Temping agencies are businesses that provide workers to companies for temporary periods, possibly to fill in gaps for a number of months. In such cases, the working conditions of the worker are the responsibility of the company they are working for.

On the other hand, outsourcing agencies outsource their workers to companies. For these cases, the control of the worker remains with the outsourcing agency.

Locally, workers who are employed directly by an entity are already protected and entitled to equal pay for equal work. Yet through this legal notice, workers at temping and outsourcing agencies will also have this right.

It was also noted that the notice applies to all workers, irrespective of whether they are on a definite or indefinite contract.

Through this legal notice, workers have the right to get paid at the same rate as the employees of the place where they are sent to work. Should the pay rate be lower than that provided by the outsourcing agency, then the worker will receive the higher pay.

Additionally, such workers will also be entitled to the same work conditions. These include break hours, overtime, rest periods, annual leave, and additional payment for holidays, among other conditions.

If workers feel wronged by an employer, they will be able to take the matter to an industrial tribunal.

During a press conference at General Soft Drinks Co. Ltd’s factory in Marsa, Prime Minister Robert Abela said that the investment that is made and the workplaces that provide the best opportunities “are there to provide dignity and stronger rights to all workers.”

He affirmed that workers deserve to be treated equally, irrespective of who they are and where they come from.

Social Dialogue Parliamentary Secretary noted that the equal pay and conditions of workers and contractors will thus come into force from the first day of work.

He referred to new laws regulating temping agencies that came into force last April, stating that the legal notice is the next step in striking a balance between adhering to the rights of workers and employers.