# Annual Leave Entitlement Malta 2026 — 192 Hours Plus Holidays

Source page: https://valem.run/calculators/malta/holiday-entitlement

Regulation 8 of the Organisation of Working Time Regulations sets paid annual leave at the equivalent in hours of four weeks and thirty-two hours on a forty-hour week and an eight-hour day — 192 hours, or 24 days. Since 1 January 2021 a whole-time employee also gets an extra day of vacation leave for every public holiday falling on a Saturday, Sunday or their weekly rest day.

**Tax year:** 2026

## How it is calculated

*"Every worker shall be entitled to paid annual leave of at least the equivalent in hours of four weeks and thirty-two hours calculated on the basis of a forty-hour working week, and an eight-hour working day."* That works out at **192 hours**, or 24 days of eight. Note that the regulation never states 192: it states four figures and leaves you to multiply, which is why this page names all four.

**And then the calendar gets a vote.** A proviso in force since 1 January 2021: *"where a national or public holiday falls on a Saturday, Sunday or weekly day of rest to which an employee is entitled, such employee shall be entitled to an additional day of vacation leave during that same calendar year in respect of each such national or public holiday."* Malta has fourteen public holidays, many on fixed dates, so between about two and six of them land on a weekend in any given year.

**That makes Malta the only entitlement here that moves without the contract changing.** A whole-time employee’s statutory leave swings roughly between 26 and 30 days year to year. Any page reporting a flat “24 days” is right in no year at all — which is why this calculator asks how many holidays fell on your rest days.

**The hours are absolute, then scaled.** If your average week is not forty hours, *"the annual leave entitlement in hours shall be adjusted accordingly"*, measured over a seventeen-week reference period and excluding overtime. That is the opposite of the Dutch rule, which defines the entitlement as four times *your* weekly hours from the outset — same unit, opposite direction.

**Three rules on how it is used, not how much it is.** A minimum equivalent to four weeks cannot be replaced by an allowance in lieu except on termination, and any agreement to the contrary is null. Leave is taken as whole working days with the equivalent hours deducted, except for urgent leave. And up to 50% may be carried over once, to be used first and not carried again.

## Worked example

With Your average weekly hours of 40, this model computes Days Entitled of 24.

## Inputs

| Name | Label | Type |
| --- | --- | --- |
| `weeklyHours` | Your average weekly hours | number |
| `hoursPerDay` | Hours in your working day | number |
| `monthsWorked` | Months employed in this calendar year | number |
| `holidaysOnRestDays` | Public holidays falling on a Saturday, Sunday or your rest day | number |
| `daysTaken` | Days already taken | number |

## Sources

- [S.L. 452.87 Organisation of Working Time Regulations, reg. 8(1) — legislation.mt (four weeks and thirty-two hours, on a forty-hour week and an eight-hour day; adjusted where the average week differs)](https://legislation.mt/eli/sl/452.87/eng/pdf) (checked 2026-10-11)

## What this page claims

The Valem engine reproduces this model's formula through 9 self-test cases. That shows internal consistency, not that the formula matches current law; the cited sources are the evidence for that. Estimate, not tax advice.

## For agents

- Model manifest (formula, constants, test vectors): https://valem.run/calculators/malta/holiday-entitlement.json
- Compute by URL: https://valem.run/calculators/malta/holiday-entitlement.json?weeklyHours=40
- MCP: https://valem.run/mcp/calculators (call `calculate` with calculator `malta/holiday-entitlement`)