Micro business employers are to be engaged in a new project aimed to keep them abreast of rights and obligations they might have been blissfully unaware of until now.
The €270,000, two-year project, funding for which has been obtained under EU Cohesion Policy 2007-2013 Structural Funds, is entitled Capacity Building For Equipping And Representing Micro-Business Employers. It will be officially launched tomorrow and will be administered by The Malta Employers Association, in partnership with the Employment and Training Corporation, the Finance Ministry, and RKW Kompetenzzentrum, the German Centre for Productivity.
MEA director-general Joseph Farrugia told The Times Business yesterday the project was necessary in the light of developments in the labour market which affected businesses of all sizes.
"Larger businesses which have established human resources departments are able to keep pace with developments, but many small businesses, those which employ fewer than five people, are usually owner-managed and do not have the time to keep up," Mr Farrugia said.
"This is a good initiative that aims to make micro businesses aware of their rights and obligations and of developments or requirements under new Legal Notices, for instance, which apply to all organisations. Some small firms infringe regulations simply because they are not aware of them."
Mr Farrugia explained that the majority of Malta's employee base is engaged with the bigger companies, but the islands' 28,000 employers included numerous small firms. He said many infringements by the smallest companies usually involved legal requirements and sometimes basic issues like work contracts.
The project aims to alert them to the need to stay informed and active in policies and good employment practices. It will also equip, involve and facilitate their participation in policy development and implementation.
Among the various planned activities are an outreach programme, an educational media campaign, training seminars, a handbook on HR policies and issues like health and safety, a dedicated portal, and research into the requirements of micro businesses. The German partners in the project will travel to Malta to share their experience.
A conference will bring Capacity Building for Equipping and Representing Micro-Business Employers to a close in the third quarter of 2012 when the project's results will be published.