TRANSFER OF BUSINESS 
(PROTECTION OF EMPLOYMENT) ġ S.L.452.85 1
SUBSIDIARY LEGISLATION 452.85
TRANSFER OF BUSINESS (PROTECTION OF 
EMPLOYMENT) REGULATIONS
1st January, 2003
LEGAL NOTICE 433 of 2002.
Title.
(Protection of Employment) Regulations.
Definition.
Cap. 452.
"transfer" means a transfer of an undertaking which retains its
identity as an organised group of resources having the objective of
pursuing an economic activity;
"transferee" shall mean any natural or legal person who, by
reason of a transfer, becomes the employer in respect of the
undertaking or part of the undertaking so transferred;
"transferor" means any natural or legal person who, by reason of
a transfer of the undertaking or part of the undertaking, ceases to be
the employer in respect of the undertaking or part of the
undertaking so transferred.
(2) Subject to the provisions of subregulation (1), terms and
expressions used in these regulations shall, unless the context
otherwise requires, have the meaning assigned to them in the Act.
Applicability.
( a ) to any transfer of an undertaking, business, or part of
an undertaking or business to another employer as a
result of a legal transfer or merger:
Provided that there is a transfer within the meaning
of this regulation whenever there is a transfer of an
economic entity which retains its identity, with the
objective of pursuing an economic activity;
( b ) to any undertaking engaged in economic activities
whether or not that activity is central or ancillary and
whether or not it is operating for gain;
( c ) where and in so far as the undertaking, business or part
of the undertaking or business to be transferred is
situated within a member state of any international
organisation to which Malta is a party or in Malta.
(2) Article 38 of the Act and these regulations shall not apply
to:
( a ) an administrative reorganisation of public
administrative authorities, or the transfer of
administrative functions between public administrative
authorities;
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TRANSFER OF BUSINESS 
(PROTECTION OF EMPLOYMENT)
( b ) sea-going vessels.
Applicability of 
article 38 of the 
Act.
4. Article 38(2) of the Act shall only apply to those
undertakings that are being transferred and that employ more than
twenty employees, including all full-time and part-time employees.
Safeguarding of 
employees’ rights.
Cap. 318.
5. (1) For the purpose of these regulations, article 38(1) and
(3) of the Act shall apply in relation to employees’ rights to old
age, invalidity or survivors’ benefits under supplementary company
pension schemes outside the provisions of the Social Security Act.
(2) The transfer of the undertaking, business or part of the
undertaking or business shall not in itself constitute sufficient
grounds for dismissal of employees by the transferor or the
transferee:
Provided that this provision shall not stand in the way of
dismissals that may take place for economic, technical or
organisational reasons entailing changes in the workforce.
(3) Whenever a transfer which involves a substantial change in
working conditions to the detriment of the employee results in the
termination of the contract of employment, the employer shall be
regarded as having been responsible for such a termination.
(4) If the undertaking, business or part of an undertaking or
business preserves its autonomy, the status and function of the
employees’ representatives of the employees affected by the
transfer shall be preserved on the same terms and subject to the
same conditions as existed before the date of the transfer.
(5) If the term of office of the representatives of the employees
affected by the transfer expires as a result of the transfer, the
representatives shall continue to be considered and recognised as
such and enjoy the protection provided by the Act until such a time
as a new representative is in place.
Duty of transferor 
and transferee to 
inform employees’ 
representatives.
6. (1) For the purposes of article 38(2) of the Act, the
transferor and the transferee shall be bound to give the information
therein specified by means of a written statement containing all the
information specified in article 38(2) of the Act.
(2) The written statement mentioned in the preceding
subregulation is to be delivered to the employees’ representatives
at least fifteen working days before the transfer is carried out or
before the employees are directly affected by the transfer as regards
their conditions of work and employment, whichever is the earlier.
(3) The obligations laid down in article 38(2) of the Act and in
the preceding subarticles shall apply irrespective of whether the
decision resulting in the transfer is taken by the employer or an
undertaking controlling the employer.
(4) In considering alleged breaches of the information and
consultation requirements laid down in these regulations, the
argument that such a breach occurred because the information was
not provided by an undertaking controlling the employer shall not
be accepted as an excuse.
TRANSFER OF BUSINESS 
(PROTECTION OF EMPLOYMENT) ġ S.L.452.85 3
Duty of employer 
to inform the 
Director 
responsible for 
employment and 
industrial relations.
7. The transferor and the transferee shall also be bound to
forward to the Director responsible for employment and industrial
relations, a copy of the written statement mentioned in regulation 5
on the same day that these are notified to the employees’
representatives.
Beginning of 
consultations.
8. In those cases where the transfer includes measures
affecting the conditions of employment of the transferred
employees, consultations between the transferor, the transferee and
the employees’ representatives shall begin within seven working
days from the day on which the employees’ representatives have
been notified of the intended transfer and such consultations shall
cover the impact of the transfer on the employees’ conditions of
employment.
Offences.
regulations shall be guilty of an offence and shall, on conviction, be
liable to a fine of not less than five hundred liri (Lm 500) for every
employee that is affected by the transfer.
