Category: Articles

Malta Chamber of SMEs encourages business owners to safeguard their mental health

In collaboration between government entities, business representatives and the Richmond Foundation, a mental health assistance service is to be made available.

MENT + is an initiative launched after several businesses recognised the impact of the pandemic on mental health.

The agreement was signed between Malta Enterprise, Business First, Malta Chamber of SME’s, the Chamber of Commerce and the Richmond Foundation, in the presence of Minister for Energy, Enterprise and Sustainable Development Miriam Dalli.

The MENT+ service will be provided in two ways: firstly, through the website www.mentrepreneurial.com, where training will be provided in the form of short clips tackling topics such as how one can adapt to change, mental health and resilience, amongst others.

Secondly, for those who would like further assistance, the Richmond Foundation will be providing more aid through one-to-one sessions to address further the needs of the individual.

Minister Miriam Dalli explained that during the past months, Business First was instrumental in supporting enterprises, working together with Malta Enterprise. “The pandemic has not only impacted our economy but also the mental health of many people, employers and businesses.

Therefore, with this agreement, we will provide the MENT+ service, to assist enterprises in an effective and realistic way”, said Minister Dalli.

Chief Executive of Business First, Ms Marika Tonna, said that, “Business First has direct experience with businesses and enterprises. During the pandemic, Business First assisted more than 146,000 clients. Apart from the financial assistance provided by the government – such as the wage supplement and other schemes – businesses needed guidance on how to cope with mental health and how to address the changes that were brought about by the pandemic, which impacted employees, clients and businesses”. “One’s wellbeing is not complete if one is not taking care of their mental health, as this will affect productivity and innovation. Therefore, it is crucial to integrate mental health with business.

This service will meet the needs of employers and directors in various businesses”, stated Richmond Foundation Chief Executive Ms Stephania Dimech Sant.

The first of these webinars addresses the EU Climate Law

CORE Platform as a Europe Direct center are producing monthly webinars focusing on EU policy and EU issues that affect the local business community. The first of these webinars addresses the EU Climate Law.

The EU Commission proposes to write the goal set out in the European Green Deal into law. This goal is for all European states to be climate neutral by 2050. An ambitious goal that will require a focused effort from all.

This will be the first Europe Climate Law.

The EU Climate law aims to ensure that all EU policies, contribute towards meeting the goal of climate neutrality by 2050. It seeks to bind all EU institutions and national governments to this goal.

It aims to create a monitoring system to ensure everyone stays on track towards implementing an effective transition towards a fair and prosperous EU society, with a resilient, modern, resource efficient and competitive economy. It aims to ensure that the transition to climate neutrality is irreversible and aims to provide predictability for investors and other economic players.

• What is Climate and Carbon neutrality?
• What are the implications of the EU Climate Law on the Maltese business community?
• What simple steps can local businesses implement to become carbon neutral?
• What help is there for local businesses to become carbon neutral?

These are amongst the questions Dr. Roberta Lepre from CORE Platform, explores with Dr. Marthese Portelli, CEO, Malta Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise and Industry; Prof. Maria Attard,  Director of the Institute for Climate Change and Sustainable Development , University of Malta and Dr. Elena Grech, Head of the European Commission Representation in Malta.

Click below to watch.

Do email "> if you would like to be kept up to date with any forthcoming webinars and information sessions or if you would like to ask any questions, or have topics you would like to be discussed in one of their upcoming webinars.

European Commission survey hands 4.9/5 approval rating for Business First

Business First (B1st) has received an almost perfect scoring for its standard of service offered to the business community over the course of the pandemic.

The report forming part of the European Commissions’ Single Digital Gateway shows that queries from all sectors of industry were answered in a timely and satisfactory manner; an overall approval rating of 4.9/5.0 has been achieved.

“The last year and a half have been very challenging for all our staff given the sheer volume of e-mails, calls and enquires we received. As per emails alone during 2020 this stood at 63,421, in-bound phone calls were at 68,526 complimented by 13,831 walk-ins.

“The management team at ME and B1ST is proud of all our officials for going above and beyond and for offering help and support to all entrepreneurs, especially self-employed, family businesses and SMEs” said B1ST CEO Marika Tonna.

It was in 2017 that B1st set itself up as Malta’s one-stop-shop for business in a joint endeavour between Malta Enterprise and the Chamber of SMEs.

A hallmark of B1ST success is an ever-expanding list of Government entities that are providing their services out of its central office in Mrieħel. More recently, B1st teamed up with the Department of Industrial and Employer Relations (DIER) to provide workers with one-on-one customer care services. Under this guidance, entrepreneurs and start-ups can increase their respect and duty toward their workers, observing their rights, and fulfilling necessary obligations.

“Business First is to be commended for its indefatigable efforts in strengthening Malta’s entrepreneurial spirit. Buoyed by confirmation of their examplary work by 3rd parties we look forward to charting and supporting their future success. I join Marika in extending a special congratulatory thanks to all client-facing officials at ME and B1st who have been a point of reference for many during these difficult months”, concluded ME CEO Kurt Farrugia.

August is always a special month that everyone looks forward to. A month for sitting back, enjoying time with friends and family, and making up for the some tiring months during the rest of the year.

For the Chamber of SMEs, August was also a month for celebration with our CEO tying the knot. After over a year of intense work due to the pandemic, the Chamber’s staff and Council had a very welcome opportunity to celebrate this special occasion together.

We take this opportunity to wish you well for your respective summer breaks or well for your work if this is your season, and we look forward to an energised September!

The investment could include refurbishment of facilities, new equipment, new vehicles used for work, and also salary increases

Energy and Enterprise Minister Miriam Dalli together with Malta Enterprise CEO Kurt Farrugia announced that the MicroInvest scheme has been extended.

The MicroInvest scheme is applicable for the self-employed, micro enterprises and SMEs employing up to 50 people. Through this scheme, businesses are encouraged to invest in their businesses and part of the money invested would be converted into tax credits.

The investment by businesses could include refurbishment of facilities, new equipment, new vehicles used for work, and also salary increases.

The new extension tackles the issue of low sales figures which meant that some businesses couldn’t benefit from the tax credit. Businesses will now have three more years to use their MicroInvest tax credit certificates.

There are 7,000 self-employed and small businesses that are eligible to apply for this scheme. So far since January 2019, €84 million has been provided to businesses through this scheme.”

Businesses who can apply for the scheme have to fall under a specific category according to their Planning Authority permit.

Other categories are there for retail, financial, food and drink establishments, offices and all industry premises.

 A business that buys an internal combustion engine could benefit from a tax certificate amounting to a maximum of 30% of the value of the vehicle.

Buying a plug in hybrid or an electric vehicle for your business would entitle the business for a minimum of 45% tax certificate on the value of the vehicle.

From August 30, the number of every cluster can increase to 500 people for seated events

New regulations for events have been announced while vaccinated people may spend less time in quarantine if in contact with a COVID-19 patient.

From August 16, all those who are fully vaccinated need to spend seven days in quarantine instead of 14, Health Minister Chris Fearne told a news conference on Thursday. The quarantine period will end once a negative test is presented.

From August 16, the number of clusters of people at all seated events can increase from 200 to 300. All those attending have to be vaccinated. From August 30, the number of every cluster can increase to 500 people. It is not clear whether the new rules apply to weddings.

Standing events will remain barred.

Fearne said that pregnant women who are in their second and third trimester (13 weeks onwards) are now encouraged to take the vaccine unless told otherwise by their doctor.

This is a marked shift from the previous policy where pregnant women were told not to take the vaccine.

Deadline for both schemes is the 13th August

Malta Enterprise have extended the deadline for the one-time grant and the rent refund scheme. Registrations will be accepted until the 13th of August 2021.

The one-time grant, is a scheme where a cash grant of €1,000 is given to those businesses which remained closed after 10 May 2021 as per Legal Notices issued by the Health Authority and are in receipt of the Wage Supplement.
An email was sent out to potential eligible businesses containing a link to a simple application process.
Malta Enterprise will simply process the grant in due course with funds being sent directly to the business’ bank accounts.

The rent refund scheme, is eligible for businesses which had to close their operations as a result of government legal notices in March 2021. The businesses are eligible for a refund in the form of a top-up of 50% on the amount received last year.

New applicants who were closed in March and April 2020, and benefited from the wage supplement are eligible for the Rent Refund scheme in accordance with the following cappings:

• If a business has 1 to 9 employees receiving the wage supplement, there is one eligible rental agreement with a maximum support of €1,250;
• If a business has 10 to 19 employees receiving wage supplement, there are two eligible rental agreements with a maximum support of €2,000;
• If a business has 20 to 29 employees receiving wage supplement, there are three eligible rental agreements with a maximum support of €2,750;
• If a business has 30 to 39 employees receiving wage supplement, there are four eligible rental agreements with a maximum support of €3,500;
• If a business has 40 and over employees receiving wage supplement, there are five eligible rental agreements with a maximum support of €3,750.

In terms of the application process, businesses which received a rent refund for 2020 and whose rent contract is still valid (not expired or updated) will not need to resubmit copies of their contract.

Meanwhile, businesses which only received a wage supplement during March and April 2021 will be invited to apply for the Rent Refund Scheme covering rent costs incurred in 2021.

If eligible, businesses are encouraged to applies by the 13th of August 2021.

While the companies that were affected the most by the Covid-pandemic will continue to receive the full Covid-19 wage supplement, businesses in other categories will lose up to two-thirds of the amount they receive from the government.

A new tapering system was announced that shall be utilized for the disbursement of the Wage Supplement Scheme from August to December 2021.

Worst-hit companies with an impact of 55% or more (2019 – 2020) – will continue to receive the wage supplement in full until the end of year. Therefore, they will experience no change.

Tapering for the other categories will take place in 2 phases as explained in the table. Same principle applies for Part-Time employees.

Beneficiaries presently receiving €600 monthly per employee will be tapered down to €420 in Phase 1 and €210 in Phase 2.