URGENT F AMILY LEAVE [S.L.452.88 1
SUBSIDIARY LEGISLATION 452.88
URGENT FAMILY LEA VE REGULATIONS
5th April, 2004
LEGAL NOTICE 296 of 2003, as amended by Legal Notice 427 of 2007.
Title. 1. The title of these regulations is the Urgent Family Leave
Regulations.
Interpretation. 2. (1) In these regulations -
Cap. 452. ''the Act'' means the Employment and Industrial Relations Act;
''pro rata '' shall have the meaning as signed to it by article 2 of
the Act:
Provided that:
(a) when the employee is employed in part-time
employment on a variable time schedule, the numberof hours of work per week shall be the average number
of hours of work per w eek spread over successive
thirteen week periods co mmencing on the first of
January of each calendar year; and
(b) when the employee has not been in part-time
employment for a period of thirteen weeks the average
number of hours of work per week shall be calculatedover the number of weeks in employment.
(2) Subject to the provisions of subregulation (1), terms and
expressions used in these regula tions shall, unless the context
otherwise requires, have the meaning assigned to them in the Act.
Purpose and 
applicability.3. (1) The purpose of these regulations is to lay down
minimum requirements designed to facilitate the reconciliation of
parental and professional responsibilities for working parents.
(2) These regulations shall be applicable without prejudice to
the introduction and implementation of more favourable provisions
in collective agreements or other agreements entered into between
the employer and the employee.
(3) These regulations shall apply to all workers who have an
employment contract or employm ent relationship as contemplated
in the Act.
Urgent leave on 
grounds of force 
majeure .4. (1) All employees, shall be entitled to time off from work
on grounds of force majeure for urgent family reasons in cases of
sickness or accident making the immediate presence of the
employee indispensable.
(2) The circumstances covered by subregulation (1) shall
include:
(a) accidents to members of th e immediate family of the
employee;
(b) the sudden illness or sickness of any member of the
2 [S.L.452.88 URGENT F AMILY LEAVE
immediate family of th e employee requiring the
assistance or the presence of the employee;
(c) the presence during births and deaths of members of
the immediate family of the employee.
(3) For the purposes of this regulation, ''immediate family''
means the husband, wife and marrie d or unmarried children, as well
as family relations up to the first degree, and whether living in the
same household or not and persons having legal custody of a child.
Notification. 5. No advance notification is required to be given by the
employee except in those cases where it is possible for the
employee to give at least twenty-four hours notice of an event
which is to take place and whic h requires the absence of the
employee from the place of work  for urgent family reasons.
Number of hours 
of urgent leave.6. (1) The employer shall be bound to grant to every
employee a minimum total of fifteen hours with pay per year astime off from work for urgent family reasons as specified in these
regulations:
Provided that the total number of hours availed of by the
employee for urgent family reasons shall be deducted from the
annual leave entitlement of the employee.
(2) The employer shall have the right to establish the maximum
number of hours of tim e off from work in each particular case, save
that the minimum time should not be  less than one hour per case
unless there is the specific agreement of the employee.
(3) The employer shall have the right to demand such evidence
as may be necessary to verify and confirm the request for urgent
leave by the employee.
(4) Part-time employees shall be entitled to pro-rata urgent
leave entitlement.
Offences.
Amended by:
L.N. 427 of 2007.7. Any person who contravenes or fails to comply with the
provisions of these regulations shall be guilty of an offence against
the Act and shall be liable, on conviction, to a fine ( multa ) of not
less than four hundred and sixty-five euro and eighty-seven cents
(465.87) and not more than two thousand and three hundred and
twenty-nine euro and thir ty-seven cents (2,329.37).