Minimum wage in Malta 2026: EUR 229.44 a week

Rates by age, and where sector orders apply

Malta sets its minimum by the week and by age. Adults aged 18 and over get EUR 229.44 (EUR 5.74 an hour). Seventeen-year-olds get EUR 222.66 (EUR 5.57), and those aged 16 and under EUR 219.82 (EUR 5.50). Part-time workers are paid pro rata.

These national rates are a fallback. Sector Wage Regulation Orders can set higher rates, and where one applies, its rate is the floor. Check which order covers the role before you set pay. The full rate table follows.

Other minimum wage rates in Malta

Malta minimum wage history

Bonuses that come on top of the weekly wage

Every Maltese employee is owed four fixed payments a year on top of the weekly wage:

• a statutory bonus of EUR 135.10 at the end of June;
• another EUR 135.10 between December 15 and 23;
• a weekly allowance of EUR 121.16 at the end of March;
• another EUR 121.16 at the end of September.

That is EUR 512.52 a year in total, prorated at EUR 0.74 a calendar day for the bonuses and EUR 4.66 a working week for the allowances when someone joins or leaves mid-period. A full year at the adult minimum is EUR 11,930.88 in wages, or EUR 12,443.40 with the bonuses. Converted to a month, the wage alone is EUR 229.44 x 52 / 12 = EUR 994.24, which matches Eurostat's EUR 994.

How fast Malta's minimum has risen

On Eurostat's monthly series, the minimum went from EUR 792 in 2022 to EUR 835 in 2023, EUR 925 in 2024, EUR 961 in 2025 and EUR 994 in 2026. The 2025 weekly rate is commonly reported as EUR 221.78, which is consistent with Eurostat's EUR 961. Each January's increase comes from the cost-of-living adjustment in the Budget; the 2027 figure had not been published on the pages we read on October 18, 2026.

Social security and the all-in cost

Malta's Class 1 social security works in weekly bands. At a basic weekly wage up to EUR 229.44 (Category B), the employer pays a fixed EUR 22.94 a week, and the employee pays the same. The Maternity Leave Trust Fund adds EUR 0.69 a week from the employer. That is 10.30% of the base wage.

Paid leave is 192 hours a year on a 40-hour week, and a public holiday that falls on a rest day adds a day of leave. The employer cost index puts Malta's on-cost at 8.4% on our higher sample salary, because the weekly contribution is capped.

Paying the Maltese minimum wage through an EOR

An employer of record registers with the Malta Tax and Customs Administration, pays the four bonuses on the right dates and handles Class 1 contributions. List prices run from $99 (Native Teams, whose help center says EUR 99) to $699 (Oyster) per employee per month (EOR prices compared); Deel lists $599 (checked October 16 and 18, 2026). On a minimum-wage role that fee is large relative to the wage, so EORs make more sense for skilled Maltese hires.

Read the Malta EOR guide for notice and contribution details, the average Maltese salary for market pay, our EOR rankings, and Italy's minimum wage rules or Greece's minimum wage for nearby comparisons.