Employees should no longer be able to take sick leave after a “5am Paceville session” or if they plan on undergoing cosmetic surgery, the Malta Employers’ Association said today.

The president of the association Arthur Muscat said the law as it stands today states that if an employee is certified to be unfit for work, then he is entitled to sick leave. Paying for sick leave after an employee has been on a 5am bender is not fair, he said.

The association says that other “self-inflicted” conditions such as sunburn, sun-strokes and sports injuries should also be excluded from sick leave.

On cosmetic surgery, the MEA said that while acknowledging that “each case should be treated on its own merits, the MEA is proposing that employees should not pay sick leave resulting from purely cosmetic surgery.”

In another proposal, the MEA said the cost of living adjustment should be linked to productivity rather than inflation.

It also highlighted a case where a financial company’s directors are facing prosecution over a claim involving €200 deduced from an employee’s wages. The company could have its licence revoked if it loses the case.

“If for example a financial services company has 400 employees, the law should not be interpreted too rigidly. If the company’s licence is revoked, it can be costly economically and jobs can be lost,” the MEA said. 

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