How to Employ a Carer Directly in Malta, Step by Step

In Malta, you can employ a carer for your mum or dad directly. Nobody needs to stand in the middle, and no licence is needed to be a household employer (source: Identità: non-EU employment FAQ). But the person who employs the carer takes on real legal duties: registration, a written contract, payroll, minimum pay, rest days and leave. This guide walks through each step in order, with a link to the official page for each one. It covers carers employed in a private home in Malta.

Before you start

Three questions change what you need to do. Answer them first.

1. Will your parent claim Carer at Home? The scheme pays up to €9,000 a year in 2026, but only if the carer holds a recognised qualification and your parent employs them under an agreement authenticated by a notary (source: servizz.gov.mt: Carer at Home). Check both before you offer anyone the job. See our Carer at Home guide.
2. Is the carer an EU citizen or from outside the EU? EU citizens don't need a permit to live and work in Malta (source: Identità: EU nationals). A carer from outside the EU needs a single permit from Identità, tied to your parent as employer, before they can start (see Step 3 and our non-EU carer guide).
3. Live-in or live-out? The domestic-service order sets different minimum pay, hours and meal rules for workers who sleep in and those who don't (source: S.L. 452.170, the domestic-service order). Our cost guide sets out what each costs.

Step 1: Decide who the employer is

In most families the employer will be the person receiving care, with adult children helping with the paperwork. Several official rules assume it:

• Carer at Home requires the carer to be "in regular employment with the applicant", meaning the older person (source: servizz.gov.mt: Carer at Home).
• The social security exemption for the employer's share is for "an elderly person or a disabled person who employs a carer" (source: Social Security: employer-share exemption for employers of a carer).
• A live-in carer permit needs "a medical referral from the employer's doctor… confirming that the employer requires a full-time carer" (source: Identità: live-in carer checklist, new application).

If someone other than the employer submits a live-in carer permit application, Identità requires a power of attorney (prokura) drafted and authenticated by a notary in Malta (source: Identità: live-in carer checklist, new application). If your parent can't manage their own affairs, speak to a notary or lawyer before anyone signs a contract on their behalf.

Step 2: Get a PE number

Jobsplus says that household employers have "specific obligations, one of which includes obtaining a PE number. You can get this from the Office of the Commissioner for Revenue" (source: Jobsplus: household employers). The tax office's page explains that a PE number "is required by all taxpayers who employ individuals in Malta", and offers an online form, "PE Registration for Individuals/Sole Proprietors" (source: MTCA: register for a PE number).

You'll need the PE number for the Jobsplus engagement form (source: Jobsplus: engagement form) and for the monthly payroll returns in Step 6.

Step 3: Check the carer's documents

Before the first day, make sure the carer can lawfully work for your parent, and that you have what Jobsplus will ask for.

• Maltese citizens: the social security number is the same as the ID card number (source: Jobsplus: engagement form).
• EU citizens: no permit is needed (source: Identità: EU nationals). If it's their first job in Malta, Jobsplus asks for a copy of an official ID and proof of residence in Malta, such as a rent agreement (source: Jobsplus: employment forms).
• Carers from outside the EU: Jobsplus asks for a copy of "the Maltese Residence Card or the Temporary Authorisation to Work document" issued by Identità (source: Jobsplus: employment forms). An Approval in Principle letter isn't enough. Identità says it "does not authorise the third-country national to take up employment" until biometrics are done and an Interim Receipt with a Temporary Authorisation to Work is issued (source: Identità: single permit).
• Social security number: a carer who isn't Maltese obtains one personally from the Department of Social Security (source: Jobsplus: engagement form).
• For Carer at Home: a copy of the carer's qualification, with MQRIC recognition if it was obtained abroad (source: servizz.gov.mt: Carer at Home).

Qualifications and experience on CarerMalta profiles are as stated by the carer. Check the documents themselves.

Step 4: Put the terms in writing within 7 days

Maltese law requires the essential terms of employment to be given to the worker in writing. Most of them, together with the contract of employment, must be given "no later than the seventh calendar day" from the first working day, and the rest within one month (source: S.L. 452.126). Give every carer a written contract within that time, whatever the hours.

The information the law lists includes (source: S.L. 452.126):

• the employer's and carer's identity details, and the place of work;
• the job title and a short description of the work;
• the start date, and the end date if the contract is for a fixed term;
• any probation period and its conditions;
• paid leave entitlements;
• how the employment can be ended, including notice periods;
• pay: the basic amount, any other elements, and how often and how it's paid;
• the normal working day or week, and any overtime arrangements.

Two extra requirements may apply:

• Carer at Home: the employment agreement must be authenticated by a Notary Public (source: servizz.gov.mt: Carer at Home).
• A non-EU live-in carer: Identità's checklist asks for a contract signed by both sides that includes "the basic wage and the duration of employment", plus a position description that agrees with it (source: Identità: live-in carer checklist, new application).

If you start from an older template, check that it doesn't refer to the Domestic Service Wages Council Wage Regulation Order (S.L. 452.40). That order has been repealed (source: S.L. 452.40 (repealed)), and it has different rules on sick leave and special leave from the current order.

Step 5: Send the Jobsplus engagement form

Every paid employment in Malta has to be registered with Jobsplus. Household employers "are required to fill out engagement and termination forms for each of your household employees" (source: Jobsplus: household employers).

• How: online, through the Employer Online Services portal on the Jobsplus website (source: Jobsplus: employment forms).
• When: the Jobsplus knowledge base says the form "must be submitted on the first day of employment and no later than four working days from the effective date of employment" (source: Jobsplus: employment forms). The form itself says it should reach Jobsplus "on the SAME DAY of commencement of employment" (source: Jobsplus: engagement form). The simple way to comply with both is to send it on the carer's first day.
• What you'll need: the carer's ID or passport details and social security number, your parent's details and PE number, and, for a non-EU carer, the residence card or Temporary Authorisation to Work (sources: Jobsplus: engagement form; Jobsplus: employment forms).

Step 6: Run payroll through FSS

Tax and social security for employees are handled through the Final Settlement System (FSS), run by the tax office (MTCA). The main forms (source: MTCA: FSS manual):

Social security (Class 1). For a carer earning between €229.45 and €559.30 a week (born 1962 or later), the carer and the employer each pay 10% of the basic weekly wage, and the employer pays 0.3% to the Maternity Leave Fund; the band is €229.45 to €490.38 for someone born up to 1961 (sources: MTCA: Class 1 contribution rates, 2026; PwC Malta: payroll updates 2026). A monthly wage is converted to its weekly equivalent (source: MTCA: Class 1 contribution rates, 2026). The carer's share and income tax come out of their pay; the employer's share is an extra cost.

The employer-share exemption. If your parent is older or disabled and holds an Exemption Certificate from the Department of Social Security, they can leave the employer's share out of the FS5 payment by attaching the certificate. The carer's share must still be paid (source: Social Security: employer-share exemption for employers of a carer).

Payroll can be fiddly. You can run it yourself, or pay an accountant or payroll adviser to do it.

Step 7: Pay at least the legal minimum

Pay for domestic workers in private households is set by the Domestic Service (Conditions of Work) Regulation Order, S.L. 452.170 (source: S.L. 452.170, the domestic-service order). The order doesn't name carers, but it covers "other persons employed in related work" (source: S.L. 452.170, the domestic-service order); if you're unsure it applies to your arrangement, ask DIER (the Department for Industrial and Employment Relations, which enforces employment conditions). The 2026 minimums for the most common arrangements:

Weekly and daily groups are in the order itself (source: S.L. 452.170, the domestic-service order).

On top of the wage:

• Statutory bonuses and weekly allowances: €121.16 at the end of March and September, and €135.10 at the end of June and in December (source: DIER: bonuses and weekly allowances).
• The 2026 cost-of-living increase: €4.66 a week for whole-time employees from 1 January 2026 (source: L.N. 290 of 2025). The 2026 minimums above already include it.
• Meals: on sleep-in days, a live-in carer is entitled to all meals. The order allows a meal deduction of €48.36 a month for Groups 1 and 2 (source: S.L. 452.170, the domestic-service order); check with DIER or a payroll adviser how to apply it.
• The room: the order provides no deduction for accommodation (source: S.L. 452.170, the domestic-service order). Don't deduct anything for it without advice from DIER or a payroll adviser.

State the pay, and how and when it's paid, in the contract (source: S.L. 452.126). Our cost guide turns these figures into a yearly employer cost.

Step 8: Hours, rest, holidays and leave

The domestic-service order sets these rules (source: S.L. 452.170, the domestic-service order):

• Days the carer doesn't sleep in: no more than 8 hours a day and 40 hours a week, excluding meal and rest breaks, with time-and-a-half beyond that (arts. 4 and 6(1)).
• Sleep-in days: a minimum of three hours' rest in total each day, at times agreed with the carer (art. 9(1)). The order doesn't set an hours limit for these days, and whether Malta's general working-time rules also apply isn't settled in the texts we checked. Take advice before you plan a roster.
• Weekly rest day: one day's rest every week, agreed with the carer; work on it is paid at double time (arts. 10 and 6(3)).
• Public holidays: Malta has 14 (source: Cap. 252, national and public holidays). Monthly and weekly domestic workers are entitled to all of them with full pay (art. 13); work on one earns double pay (art. 6(2)).
• Annual leave: follows the Organisation of Working Time Regulations (art. 11): 192 hours on a 40-hour week, plus extra leave for each public holiday that falls on a Saturday, Sunday or weekly rest day (source: S.L. 452.87, working time). In 2026 PwC puts that at 216 hours, or 27 days (source: PwC Malta: payroll updates 2026). Ask DIER how it applies to a six-day live-in roster.
• Sick leave: the equivalent of 14 days a year on full pay, less sickness benefit. The employer pays the first three days of any absence in full. It applies from the first day of employment, pro rata, and you can ask for a medical certificate (art. 12).
• Special leave: three working days of bereavement leave and three of marriage leave, among others (source: S.L. 452.101, special leave).
• Uniform: if you require one, you provide it free (art. 8).

Plan how your parent will be cared for on the carer's rest days and during leave before the employment starts.

Probation and notice

The Employment and Industrial Relations Act sets the rules for probation and notice (source: Cap. 452, art. 36):

• Probation: on an indefinite contract, probation is six months. During probation either side can end the employment without giving a reason, but after the first month one week's notice is required (art. 36(1)–(2)). For fixed-term contracts, probation must be proportionate to the length of the contract (art. 36(1a)).
• Notice on an indefinite contract, from either side, depends on continuous service (art. 36(5)):

• Grounds: after probation, the Act lets an employer end an indefinite contract only on grounds of redundancy (art. 36(3)), or without notice where there is "good and sufficient cause" (art. 36(14)). If the job ends because your parent moves into residential care or passes away, take advice from DIER or a lawyer on how the rules apply.

Ending the employment

When the employment ends, for any reason:

1. Jobsplus termination form. Send it "no later than four working days from the effective date of termination" (source: Jobsplus: employment forms). The paper form says "within FOUR DAYS" (source: Jobsplus: termination form), so the safe course is to send it within four days of the termination date.
2. A carer from outside the EU. Identità must also be told within four days of the termination date (source: Identità: termination).
3. Final pay. Pay wages up to the last day, the pro-rata statutory bonus and allowance (source: DIER: bonuses and weekly allowances), and untaken annual leave; the law only allows leave to be paid out instead of taken when employment ends (source: S.L. 452.87, working time).
4. Carer at Home and the exemption certificate. Tell AACC about the change; the official pages don't say how, so ask. An employer-share Exemption Certificate must be renewed "upon a change in the carer" (source: Social Security: employer-share exemption for employers of a carer).
5. Year-end. Include the carer in the FS3 and FS7 by 15 February of the following year (source: MTCA: FSS manual).

If the employer dies and a live-in carer stays on with the surviving husband or wife, Identità has a "Transfer between Spouses" route. The carer submits a Change of Employer application, with a covering letter, death certificate and medical referral as applicable; the fee is €27.50 (source: Identità: single permit).

A record-keeping checklist

Keep these together, in a folder or a shared drive the family can reach:

• PE number confirmation (source: MTCA: register for a PE number)
• Copies of the carer's ID or passport, social security number and, if non-EU, residence card or Temporary Authorisation to Work (sources: Jobsplus: engagement form; Jobsplus: employment forms)
• Signed contract (notarised copy if claiming Carer at Home) and the written terms given within 7 days (sources: S.L. 452.126; servizz.gov.mt: Carer at Home)
• Jobsplus engagement form confirmation (source: Jobsplus: employment forms)
• Carer's FS4 (source: MTCA: FSS manual)
• Monthly payslips or pay records, and each FS5 with proof of payment (source: MTCA: FSS manual)
• Record of statutory bonuses and allowances paid (source: DIER: bonuses and weekly allowances)
• Leave, rest-day and sick-leave record, with any medical certificates (source: S.L. 452.170, the domestic-service order)
• Employer-share Exemption Certificate and its renewal date, if held (source: Social Security: employer-share exemption for employers of a carer)
• Carer at Home approval letter and correspondence with AACC, if claimed (source: servizz.gov.mt: Carer at Home)
• FS3 and FS7 copies for each year (source: MTCA: FSS manual)
• Termination form confirmation, and Identità notification if non-EU (sources: Jobsplus: employment forms; Identità: termination)

What CarerMalta does and doesn't do

CarerMalta is a listing site. Carers create free profiles, and families post jobs and contact carers directly.

CarerMalta doesn't:

• employ carers, or choose or put forward carers for you (CarerMalta is not an agency);
• check qualifications, references, permits or right-to-work documents;
• register employers, submit Jobsplus, MTCA, Social Security, Identità or AACC forms, or run payroll;
• accept or store copies of anyone's documents.

Every step in this guide is done by the employer, or by someone the employer appoints, with the official office linked above.

A CarerMalta job post isn't a Jobsplus or EURES vacancy advert. Some single-permit applications need the job advertised on Jobsplus and EURES first. Carers of older or disabled people are currently exempt, but other household roles, such as nannies and housekeepers, are not (sources: Identità: non-EU employment FAQ; Identità: Labour Migration Policy, second phase). Posting on CarerMalta doesn't meet that requirement.

Carers never pay. CarerMalta is free for carers, always. If a job post asks a carer for a fee, deposit or "processing" payment, report it.

When you've worked through the steps above, browse carer profiles and contact carers directly, or post a job describing the hours and arrangement using the button below.

Sources we checked

Every figure and rule in this guide links to the official page it comes from. We re-check them when the rules or the Budget change.

1. Jobsplus: household employers. Checked 20 Oct 2026.
2. MTCA: register for a PE number. Checked 20 Oct 2026.
3. servizz.gov.mt: Carer at Home, page updated 20 Jun 2026. Checked 20 Oct 2026.
4. Social Security: employer-share exemption for employers of a carer, page updated 18 Mar 2026. Checked 20 Oct 2026.
5. Identità: live-in carer checklist, new application. Checked 20 Oct 2026.
6. Identità: single permit, page updated 27 Aug 2025. Checked 20 Oct 2026.
7. Identità: non-EU employment FAQ, page updated 13 Oct 2026. Checked 20 Oct 2026.
8. Identità: EU nationals, page updated 16 Jul 2025. Checked 20 Oct 2026.
9. Jobsplus: engagement form. Checked 20 Oct 2026.
10. Jobsplus: employment forms. Checked 20 Oct 2026.
11. S.L. 452.126. Checked 20 Oct 2026.
12. S.L. 452.40 (repealed). Checked 20 Oct 2026.
13. MTCA: FSS manual. Checked 20 Oct 2026.
14. MTCA: Class 1 contribution rates, 2026. Checked 20 Oct 2026.
15. PwC Malta: payroll updates 2026. Checked 20 Oct 2026.
16. S.L. 452.170, the domestic-service order. Checked 20 Oct 2026.
17. DIER: bonuses and weekly allowances, page updated 11 Apr 2025. Checked 20 Oct 2026.
18. L.N. 290 of 2025. Checked 20 Oct 2026.
19. Cap. 252, national and public holidays. Checked 20 Oct 2026.
20. S.L. 452.87, working time. Checked 20 Oct 2026.
21. S.L. 452.101, special leave. Checked 20 Oct 2026.
22. Cap. 452, art. 36. Checked 20 Oct 2026.
23. Jobsplus: termination form. Checked 20 Oct 2026.
24. Identità: termination, page updated 24 Jul 2025. Checked 20 Oct 2026.
25. Identità: Labour Migration Policy, second phase, page updated 14 Nov 2025. Checked 20 Oct 2026.