S.L. 452.130 Art. 20Bank guarantee and its utilisation.

(1) For the purpose of ensuring compliance by any temporary work agency or outsourcing agency with the licence obligations and adherence to the relevant provisions of these regulations throughout the term of the licence, the relevant agency shall, prior to the commencement date of the licence in accordance with these regulations, provide a bank guarantee in favour of the Administration Board, the amount of which shall be the total of twenty thousand euro (€20,000) for agencies having a number of employees which is less than twenty (20) employees and for agencies having a number of employees which is equal or greater than twenty (20), twenty thousand euro (€20,000) and a sum equivalent to two percent (2%) of the total annualised wages payable to all the employees of the applicant as at the date of the application, whether for the first time or for a renewal, up to a maximum of three hundred thousand euro (€300,000).

(2) If the Director revokes or refuses the renewal of a licence of any temporary work agency or outsourcing agency for any of the grounds set out in regulation 9(1), the Director shall immediately notify the Administration Board thereof, whereupon the Administration Board shall take all the necessary action so that the bank guarantee shall be forfeited in full in favour of the Administration Board and deposited into the Agencies Guarantee Fund.

(3) Any employee whose employment is terminated by a temporary work agency or outsourcing agency, as the case may be, because of the revocation or non-renewal of a licence on the basis of any of the grounds set out in regulation 9(1), shall inform the Director and the Administration Board of such event within two (2) months from the date of such termination.

(4) Should the Administration Board determine and confirm that the employee’s employment was terminated in accordance with sub-regulation (3), such employee shall be eligible to receive a share of the amount of the bank guarantee provided by such employee’s employer whose bank guarantee has been forfeited in accordance with sub-regulation (2).

(5) The Administration Board shall distribute the amount of the bank guarantee referred to in sub-regulation (4), equally among all the employees of the same employer whose bank guarantee has been forfeited in accordance with sub-regulation (2) and who shall have informed the Administration Board of their termination of employment within the time period referred to in sub-regulation (3).

(6) The employee shall, on notifying the Administration Board, forward any documentation which may be necessary to enable the Administration Board to make its determination of the employee’s eligibility to the share of the amount of the bank guarantee and the Administration Board may request any information from any person to enable it to perform its obligations, and it shall be the duty of any such person to cooperate fully with the Administration Board.

(7) The Administration Board shall release the bank guarantee within three (3) months from the date of notification by the Director of the termination or non-renewal of the licence, as long as the Director is satisfied that the temporary work agency or outsourcing agency, as the case may be, shall no longer carry on any activities requiring such licence in accordance with these regulations, and that all the obligations under the licence and these regulations have been met.

(8) The provisions of this regulation shall be without prejudice to the right of the employee to refer any entitlement for any unpaid wages or any related matter to the Director or to any remedy that the employee may have under any other provision of law.