The Employment Training Corporation (ETC) and Malta Employers Association (MEA) pointed out that some companies may already have a 2% quota of persons with disability who are not registered as such, given that it is up to the individual to decide whether to register his or her disability.

The two entities said that many companies do, in fact, have employees on light duties who work a shorter working week or else a reduced workload.

This was noted during an information session held last week to discuss the regulations for the employment of disabled persons. The government is enforcing legislation which stipulates that companies with more than 20 employees must have 2% of the labour force that are persons with a disability.

MEA said that employers who can supply proof that they are employing unregistered disabled persons should not be subject to the contribution if they meet the minimum quotas.

A tax credit of a maximum of €4,500 for each disabled person in employment will be granted. Employers who refuse to abide by the law will be asked to pay a yearly compensation fee of €2,400 up to €10,000. Income from this fee will go towards a fund for persons with disability.

Proposals

The Association proposed that rather than enforcing the 2% threshold for all companies simultaneously, the government should adopt a skimming approach, approaching first companies which employ large amount of people and gradually work its way down to smaller enterprises.

The process should be stretched from 2015 to 2018 and in this manner, the foundation responsible will be dealing with a manageable number of people and will be able to ensure that the measure is properly enforced. If this initiative is successful, it would be easier to convince smaller companies to follow suit without incurring the fine.

In its position paper, published in January 2015, MEA had proposed that the measure is only applied to companies which employ over 50 people.

The Association also suggested that employers submit a list of available jobs that can be offered to disabled persons. If no such person is available, the post may be filled by other employees without the employer incurring the penalty of non-compliance.

It said that employers require professional support by the ETC, KNPD and other relevant agencies on possible changes in work organisation and infrastructure.