Scope of the Programme

The Employment Aid Programme facilitates the integration of disadvantaged and disabled persons in the labour market.

EAP will:

- enhance the employability and productivity of persons with low employment rates;

- facilitate access to employment and upgrade the skills of those furthest away from the labour market;

- contribute to increase the country’s labour supply and achieve greater social cohesion.

The scheme is in line with Commission Regulation (EC) No. 800/2008 of the 6th August 2008 on  the application of Articles 87 and 88 of the EC Treaty to State aid for employment and published in the Official Journal of the European Communities on the 9th August 2008.

The Employment Aid Programme will be co-financed by the European Social Fund, the Maltese Government and Employer.

Management of the Programme

The Programme will be totally managed and monitored by the Employment and Training Corporation.

Rules and Conditions

Rules and conditions to be followed by the employer to be eligible for aid are listed in the application guidance notes and the implementation guidelines that can be obtained on request from the Employment Training Corporation or downloaded from the website www.etc.gov.mt.

One to one meetings to further explain the EAP will be also held with the aid of a marketing company.

Eligible Criteria for Employer

All employers, including a partnership, company, association or other body of persons, whether vested with legal personality or not, and are recruiting new employees can be eligible to participate in the programme. (there must be at least one person in the organisation who is engaging the second person through the scheme).

Eligible Target Groups

The table below illustrates the eligible target groups and duration of assistance.

Subsidy

Through the Employment Aid Programme, employers will receive a subsidy equivalent to 50% of the wage costs i.e. half the basic salary excluding bonuses, allowances, commission or overtime together with half the employer’s national insurance.

The aid intensity of all Target Groups is 52 weeks except for RDPs where the assistance offered is of a maximum of 156 weeks.  Aid is offered for 3 years or until September 2013 whichever comes first

However, in the case of persons with disability the subsidy will rise to 75% of the actual wage costs for the first year, and 60% of the subsequent second and third year. This subsidy will be offered up to three years or until September 2013 which ever comes first. In such instance, employers will be requested to retain the disabled person in employment for a further one year after the subsidy period. Furthermore, employers who engage an ETC Registered Disabled Person are eligible to claim their part of Social Security Contribution for the first 3 years of employment (Budget 2008 measure).

Target Groups

- Youth under 25 and within 2 years of completing full-time education and have not yet obtained a first regular paid employment  (6 consecutive months) after completing their studies. (By Full-Time Education, ETC is taking secondary, post-secondary or tertiary education of at least one full academic year.) Level of Assistance - 50 % of the Wage costs plus half the employer’s NI; Duration of Assistance - 52 weeks
 

- Any person who wishes to re-enter working life and who has been absent both from work and from education for at least 2 years. Level of Assistance - 50 % of the Wage costs plus half the employer’s NI; Duration of Assistance - 52 weeks
 

- Any person living as a single adult looking after dependants. Level of Assistance - 50 % of the Wage costs plus half the employer’s NI; Duration of Assistance - 52 weeks
 

- Any person who has not attained upper secondary level qualifications or equivalent (ISCED Level 3) and who has been made redundant in the past six months or has been served with a redundancy notice* of termination of employment. Level of Assistance - 50 % of the Wage costs plus half the employer’s NI; Duration of Assistance - 52 weeks
 

- Any person older than 50 who does not have a job or who is losing his or her job (i.e. has been served with a redundancy notice* of termination of employment) – excluding persons reaching pensionable age by the end of the grant agreement. Level of Assistance - 50 % of the Wage costs plus half the employer’s NI; Duration of Assistance - 52 weeks
 

- Any long-term, registered unemployed person. Level of Assistance - 50 % of the Wage costs plus half the employer’s NI; Duration of Assistance - 52 weeks
 

- Any person who is a registered disabled person and who has a recognised, serious, physical, mental or psychological impairment.  In this case, as from 1/1/2011 age of eligibility will be put up to 65. Level of Assistance - 75 % of the Wage costs for the first year and 60% for the second and third year.; Duration of Assistance - 156 weeks**
 

* Notice period should be in line with the employment regulations.

** The subsidy will be offered up to three years or until September 2013, which ever comes first. Subject to this, the employer is obliged to keep the participant in employment for a minimum of a further one year after the subsidy period.

In the instance when a participant falls within two or more client groups, he/she will automatically fall under the client group that has the longest duration of assistance.

Reimbursement Process

The subsidy is reimbursed to the employer after the twelfth month from the date of engagement of each participant enrolled on the Aid Programme. The Corporation will verify that all the conditions listed in the contract have been received, checked and certified. After verification and certification from the relevant entities, the Treasury of Malta will subsequently issue the payment due.

How do I apply?

Applicants should obtain and fill in an application form, the staff declaration form, the financial identification form and either a vacancy profile form or the recruitment request form, depending on whether they will be utilizing process A or B. More information on this is available on the Implementation Guidelines.

All the above documents are to be sent to ETC, together with a CV and a photocopy of the ID card of the person to be employed.

Documents for download are available on this link.

For further assistance about EAP follow this link - http://www.impetuseurope.com/projects/index.cfm