Cap. 452 чл. 21BEmployment Agencies Appeals Board.

(1) There shall be an appeals board to be called the

"Employment Agencies Appeals Board" (hereinafter referred to as the

"Appeals Board"), which shall exercise and perform the functions and powers assigned to it by law.

(2) The Appeals Board shall consist of a Chairperson and two

(2) other members selected by the Chairperson of the Appeals Board, who shall possess different experiences to bring to the Appeals Board knowledge, so far as equally possible, of the interests in the claims lodged. Said members shall be selected from a panel of persons appointed by the Minister to serve as members of the Appeals Board, whenever the need arises, which panel shall have more than two (2) persons.

(3) The Minister shall appoint a panel of not less than two (2) and not more than five (5) persons to act as Chairpersons of the Appeals Board either in turn or in accordance with such distribution of duties and subject to such provisions as to inability to serve and other circumstances, as may be prescribed by the Minister.

(4) The Chairpersons and members shall satisfy the criteria according to sub-articles (5) or (6), and sub-articles (7) and (8) shall apply.

(5) The Chairperson shall be an advocate who, for a period or periods amounting in the aggregate to not less than seven (7) years, has served as an advocate in Malta or served as a magistrate in Malta, or partly so practised and partly so served.

(6) Subject to any other provision in any other law related to the composition of the Appeals Board or to the qualifications of its members, the other members of the Appeals Board shall be persons who in the opinion of the Minister possess the necessary expertise and experience in the field of employment.

(7) The Chairperson and the other members of the Appeals Board shall hold office for a period of three (3) years, and shall be eligible for re-appointment and may not be removed during their term of office except on grounds of proved inability to perform the functions of their office whether arising from infirmity of body or mind or any other cause, or proved misbehaviour.

(8) The Chairperson and other members of the Appeals Board shall receive such remuneration as may be determined in their instrument of appointment.

(9) An appeal in accordance with the provisions of sub-article

(11) shall be made to the Appeals Board in writing explaining clearly the grounds for the appeal by not later than thirty (30) days from the date the decision or act in question has been notified to the aggrieved person, and the Director shall have thirty (30) days from the date when it was served with such appeal to file his reply.

(10) The Appeals Board shall proceed to deal with any matter before it with utmost urgency and shall give its decision without delay.

(11) The request for the determination of the Appeals Board shall be whether, for the reasons adduced by the appellant, the Director has wrongly applied any of the provisions of the regulations issued under this Act in relation to employment agencies in his decision.

(12) The Appeals Board shall hold its sittings in public unless, having regard to the nature of the matter before it, the Appeals Board deems it fit and proper to conduct the proceedings or any part thereof behind closed doors. In any such case, the decision of the Appeals Board shall always be delivered in public. The address of the Appeals Board shall be any such address which may be in use from time to time as the head office of the department responsible for employment and industrial relations, and any correspondence shall be addressed to the Chairperson.

(13) The chairperson or other members of the Appeals Board may be challenged or may abstain from sitting in a case in those circumstances that would disqualify a judge in a civil lawsuit, and in such case the Chairperson or member shall be substituted by another member appointed by the Minister in accordance with sub-article (2) or (3) as the case may be.

(14) The Appeals Board shall have the power to summon witnesses and to administer the oath thereto, and to appoint any expert as it may deem necessary for the determination of the case before it. When the Director is to be summoned as a witness, the Director shall have the right to nominate any officer of the Director’s department to provide evidence, unless the evidence of the Director is required.

(15) (a) All evidence shall be relevant to the matter in issue between the parties.

(b) In all cases the Appeals Board shall require the best evidence that the party may be able to produce.

(c) The Appeals Board shall disallow any evidence which it considers to be irrelevant or superfluous, or which it does not consider to be the best which the party can produce.

(16) Upon the hearing of an appeal made to it under any law, the Appeals Board shall have the power:

(a) to confirm, annul or vary the decision of the Director under any of the provisions of the regulations issued under this Act in relation to employment agencies and to give directions within its powers under this Act or any other law to the Director to implement the decision of the Appeals Board;

(b) to require the production of any document or other information; and

(c) to order the payment of expenses by any party to the appeal.

(17) An appeal from a decision of the Appeals Board shall lie to the Court of Appeal only on a question of law. An appeal shall be filed by not later than twenty (20) days from the date of the decision of the Appeals Board. In the determination of such an appeal, the Court of Appeal shall have all the powers of the Appeals Board to make orders.

(18) The Minister may make regulations governing the procedure and fees for bringing and conducting appeals before the Appeals Board:

Provided that in the absence of such regulations and subject to the rules of natural justice, the Appeals Board shall regulate its own procedure.

(19) The Minister responsible for justice may by regulations made under this sub-article establish the fees payable in the registry of the court for the filing of judicial acts in connection with appeals to the Court of Appeal under this article:

Provided that until such fees are so established by the Minister responsible for justice, the fees established in Schedule A to the Code of Organization and Civil Procedure shall apply.

(20) An appeal made under this article shall not suspend the operation of any decision or directive from which the appeal is made:

Provided that a decision to revoke, not to grant, or not to renew a licence, and any consequent forfeiture of the bank guarantee in terms of any of the provisions of the regulations issued under this Act in relation to employment agencies shall not become operative until the expiration of the period within which an appeal lies under this article and, if an appeal is made within such period, the decision shall become operative on the date of the decision of the Appeals Board dismissing the appeal or the date on which the appeal is abandoned:

Provided further that where a licence in respect of which a decision to revoke has been made expires during the period within which an appeal lies under this article and, if an appeal is made within such period, the licence shall be deemed to be automatically extended on the same terms until the expiration of the period within which an appeal lies or, if an appeal is made within such period, until the date of the decision of the Appeals Board dismissing the appeal or the date on which the appeal is abandoned.

at 22. (1) Every employer shall pay or cause to be paid wages to his employees at regular intervals which shall not exceed four weeks in arrears: Provided that the provisions of this sub-article shall not apply where an agreement is entered into between an employer or employers or organisations of employers on the one hand and trade union representatives of the employees concerned on the other, fixing other intervals for the payment of wages.

(2) On termination of a contract of service all wages outstanding and any compensation payable to the employee for leave entitlement unavailed of, shall be paid by the date of the next pay day determined under sub-article (1) as if the contract had not been terminated.

(3) A settlement of accounts shall be made at least once a year by the employer in respect of employees whose wages consist of a share of profits or of a commission on sales or payments made or received by the employer.