03/10/2025
FAQs on Act ###III of 2024 – Health and Safety at Work Act
The Health and Safety at Work Act. Published by the Parliament of Malta on August 9, 2024, this legislation aims to regulate and enhance workplace health and safety, with a strong focus on protecting and promoting the well-being of workers.
What is Act ###III of 2024?
The Act stipulates that upon coming into force, the Minister responsible for health and safety at work may, by notice or notices in the Gazette, establish the date of the repeal of the Occupational Health and Safety Authority Act, Chapter 424 of the Laws of Malta.
Who will the law apply to?
The law will apply to all workplaces and all sectors of business, both in the private as well as in the public sector and, will apply to all work activities, including work activities carried out by self-employed individuals.
Particularly, self-employed individuals shall assess all risks to the health and safety of all persons, including their own, arising out of the work to be carried out and shall take all appropriate measures of prevention.
What is the role of the Authority and what is its composition?
The Act establishes an Authority which shall consist of a Board and the Executive. The Authority shall, in a nutshell, be responsible for the promotion of health and safety at work, including ensuring that the physical, psychological and social well being of workers in all workplaces is promoted. The adherence to and compliance with the law by all parties shall also be for the Authority to ensure.
What are the main duties of employers?
The Act places various obligations on the employer in terms of health and safety.
Primarily, it shall be the duty of employers to ensure the physical and psychological well being of workers at all times as well as, of all such persons who may be affected by the work being carried out for such employer at their workplace.
The Act requires employers to implement various measures to prevent physical and psychological ill-health, injury or death at work, and this by, inter alia, identifying hazards associated with work, evaluating those risks and controlling at source those risks which cannot be avoided and, by taking all the necessary measures to reduce risk and danger as much as reasonably practicable.
The employer is also required to adapt to technical progress as well as adapt the work to the worker, particularly in so far as the design of workplaces, the choice of work equipment and the choice of working and production methods are concerned, in particular with a view to alleviating monotonous work and work at a predetermined work-rate, and with the aim of reducing their effect on health.
Employers must also replace the dangerous with the non-dangerous, or where such isn’t possible, by the less dangerous.
Supervision, instruction and thorough training of workers is also fundamental as employers are obliged to develop a written policy of overall prevention which covers technology, organisation of work, working conditions, social relationships and the influence of factors relating to the work environment. Employers must also inform any contractors, self-employed individuals and workers from outside the organisation of such policy, as well as inform same of the presence of any specific hazards, resultant risks and preventive and protective measures required to be undertaken.
The Act also makes it fundamentally clear that in ensuring compliance with law as regards health and safety, no financial cost of doing so is placed on the workers by employers.
