The Ministry of Finance has tabled draft regulations before the House of Representatives aimed at ensuring equal treatment for Indefinite-Term Employees appointed to the public service in relation to annual leave entitlements.
Under the existing Public Service Regulations on the Granting of Leave, in force from 1995 to 2017, annual leave for public officers is calculated exclusively on the basis of years of service in the public service, counted from the date of appointment to a permanent post. The current framework does not provide for the recognition of prior service in another state department or organisation, nor previous employment as an Indefinite-Term Employee, for the purposes of calculating annual leave.
According to the explanatory report, the Council of Ministers, by decision dated 20 February 2018, approved the alignment of annual and sick leave entitlements of Indefinite-Term Employees with those of permanent public servants. However, the necessary amendment of the relevant regulations remained pending in order to ensure that an Indefinite-Term Employee appointed to the public service would retain the number of annual leave days accrued and that years of service would be recognised for leave calculation purposes.
Separate promotion of the amendment
The issue had been incorporated into a broader set of new Public Service Regulations on the Granting of Leave, drafted to modernise the existing framework and submitted to the House of Representatives for approval in February 2024. Their examination, however, remains pending due to objections raised by trade union organisations regarding amendments concerning sick leave provisions.
The Ministry is currently re-examining that matter. Nevertheless, given that the regulation of annual leave entitlements for Indefinite-Term Employees appointed to the public service cannot remain outstanding, it was deemed appropriate to promote this provision separately.
As a result, the proposed Amending Regulations have been drafted to address the issue both for Indefinite-Term Employees appointed to the public service and for employees appointed following service in another state body or organisation, including the Security Forces, the Armed Forces, the Public Educational Service or public law entities, on grounds of equal treatment.
Retroactive effect
The proposed regulations include a provision for retroactive application from 1 January 2018, in order to comply with the aforementioned decision of the Council of Ministers.
The draft regulations have undergone legal-technical review by the Legal Service of the Republic and were approved by the Council of Ministers on 13 January 2026.