ISSUE 03 OCT 2014
FAMILY EMPLOYMENT BUSINESS LIFESTYLE & MORE
Dr Matthew Saliba REDEFINING SUCCESS
EMPLOYMENT
Recruiting within the parameters of the law
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Many would agree that an organisation’s employees are its greatest asset. Hence the recruitment process is a very important step in making sure that a new employee is an added value to the
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mployers should be aware that they have a legal responsibility towards candidates and such a responsibility starts from the moment that the vacancy is advertised. There must not be any unlawful discrimination in the advert but, unfortunately we still see adverts specifying the gender or age or any other criteria, which may be unlawful. Adverts need to be vetted well before they are issued! The legal responsibility in the recruitment process does not start and end with the vacancy being advertised, so employers must make sure that no unlawful discrimination occurs in the whole process of recruitment - from the advert stage through to the actual
selection of the candidate, including the interview. The Employment and Industrial Relations Act (Chapter 452 of the Laws of Malta) defines discriminatory treatment as: “any distinction, exclusion or restriction which is not justifiable in a democratic society including discrimination made on the basis of marital status, pregnancy or potential pregnancy, sex, colour, disability, religious conviction, political opinion or membership in a trade union or in an employers’ association” Furthermore the Equal Treatment in Employment Regulations (Subsidiary Legislation 452.95) defines discriminatory treatment as any distinction, exclusion, restriction or difference in treatment, whether direct or indirect...” This relates
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EMPLOYMENT
to the following grounds: religion, religion belief, disability, age, sex, sexual orientation, and racial or ethnic origin. Discriminatory treatment also includes the following: • harassment and sexual harassment, as well as any less favourable treatment based on a person’s rejection of, or submission to, such conduct; • instruction to discriminate against persons on grounds of sex; • any less favourable treatment of a woman related to pregnancy or maternity leave within the meaning of Directive 92/85/EEC; • in so far as the ground of sex is concerned, any less favourable treatment of a person who underwent or is undergoing gender reassignment, which
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shall mean where a person is considering or intends to undergo, or is undergoing or has undergone, a process, or part of a process, for the purpose of reassigning the person’s sex by changing physiological or other attributes of sex. In practice... Once the vacancy is identified a job description and person specification need to be drawn up. It’s a good idea to review what you have stored or get ideas from job sites but when creating the job description and the person specification for YOUR vacancy you need to be objective and use appropriate job titles. In other words don’t just copy and paste from what you had a few years back or from online sources. This might sound like stating the obvious but this practice is still very common and
WHEN CREATING THE JOB DESCRIPTION AND THE PERSON SPECIFICATION FOR YOUR VACANCY YOU NEED TO BE OBJECTIVE AND USE APPROPRIATE JOB TITLES.
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EMPLOYMENT
organisations keep getting caught out time and time again. Therefore by way of a simple example it is not ‘female shop assistant’ but ‘shop assistant’. If you think this is obvious then you are doing the right thing and you keep at it. It becomes trickier when the obvious is not so obvious. For example when you are drawing up the person specification you ask for a requirement for CONTINUOUS experience. What is wrong with this? This could indirectly discriminate against women (unless it can be objectively justified) who have taken time out from work to look after children. For example a requirement for someone who is ‘mature’ can discriminate against someone who is young - age discrimination. Therefore your person specification should describe skills,
experience, qualifications, and qualities that are necessary or desirable in the candidate you want to attract. In summary when recruiting and looking at the needs of your organisation make sure that you do not discriminate and always look at the bigger picture... someone taught me to “wear different glasses” to be able to see things from a different perspective. Hence you need to wear “male glasses”, “female glasses”, “ethnic glasses” and any other glasses to make the right decision for your orgnanisation. At the end of the day as much as recruiting within the parameters of the law is fundamental, having a diverse workforce is the way forward for a successful business. DR. ROSELYN BORG KNIGHT
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FAMILY
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FAMILY
The Rights of the Child A Comprehensive Children’s Act Children in Malta are very
much loved and cherished. Family life practically revolves around children. This is perhaps because, subconsciously, we all know that the one real resource for national self-sustenance is human potential. In essence, our future lies in children. Against this backdrop, the Maltese Government signed the UNCRC on the 26th of January 1990 and proceeded to its ratification on the 30th of September 1990. The act of ratification merely establishes Malta’s consent to be bound by the terms of this Convention. It does not directly incorporate the Convention into Maltese law. Therefore, the Maltese Government is required to introduce domestic legislation to give effect to the Convention.
Why a Comprehensive Children’s Act? In 1997, Malta reported to the Committee of the Rights of the Child (CRC) that a draft bill, entitled “The Children Act”, was being considered by Parliament. This bill was meant to consolidate into one law all existing provisions relating to children’s rights as child legislation had until then been piecemeal. The Committee conclusively welcomed the initiative and encouraged Malta to expedite the enactment of this Act. Yet, more than a decade later, child legislation remains fragmented. Whereas Maltese child legislation is at pains to enunciate the best interests of the child, a piecemeal
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approach is doomed to fail in this endeavor. By definition, a piecemeal approach molds child legislation one piece at a time, the likelihood of this being that various children’s provisions are written at different times and independently from one another. This invariably leads to variations in interpretation and application of the law, which, for obvious reasons, is not in the best interests of the child. A piecemeal approach also impairs effective social work intervention as professionals lack the necessary legal framework for correct decision-making. A comprehensive Children’s Act will therefore not only collect fragmented children’s provisions to strengthen the rights of the child, but will also provide professionals with the necessary legal framework to facilitate decisionmaking. It goes without
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saying that the enactment of a comprehensive Children’s Act clearly signals the Maltese government’s commitment to making the UNCRC a reality on the ground.
The Child Protection Bill (Out of Home Care) The Maltese government envisages a Children’s Act that will be at the heart of children’s rights. It will assemble several chapters relating to Care Orders, Fostering, Adoption, Juvenile Justice, Mental Health, Education, Disability and Parental Authority. On the 24th of March 2014, the Minister for the Family and Social Solidarity presented before the House of Representatives the Child Protection Bill (Out of Home Care), 2014. The Bill, therefore, constitutes only
A COMPREHENSIVE CHILDREN’S ACT WILL... ALSO PROVIDE PROFESSIONALS WITH THE NECESSARY LEGAL FRAMEWORK TO FACILITATE DECISION-MAKING.
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INTERVIEW
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Redefining Success
meet Matthew at a trendy coffee shop on a Monday morning, after his gym session. We order a healthy snack and get chatting. I’ve known Matthew for a number of years so the conversation flows effortlessly. He takes me back a few years , before he had yet taken the decision of pursuing a legal career. He explains that he had initially worked with one of the leading brands in the hospitality industry. After that, he joined the MIC (the Malta-EU Information Centre) and soon started taking a keener interest in European Affairs.
‘It was evident that the MIC would be dissolved after the referendum, whichever way it went’, he explains, ‘so I started considering my career options’. He was faced with a choice between furthering his career in European Affairs, or joining University as a first year law student.
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Matthew had always been interested in reading law, however, at a younger age, he had opted for a job with a stable salary, having lived alone since his late teens. ‘By then, however, it was now or never’, he recalls, so he took the plunge. Matthew was no ordinary first year law student. Having just represented Malta at the Mr. World Malta competition, in which he placed seventh, his looks made him stand out. This was a time during which he was regularly engaged for modelling stints, so his face was a familiar one in the Maltese fashion scene. At the time, he was also participating in ‘Tista Tkun Int’, a very popular television programme. His first two years in the law course were in fact his busiest ever as a model, as he was still riding the ‘high’
INTERVIEW
WE HAVE BECOME SO COMPLACENT. AS A SOCIETY, WE HAVE BECOME ACCUSTOMED TO WRONGDOINGS, SIMPLY BECAUSE THEY ARE COMMON AND WIDESPREAD. WE LIVE IN OUR LITTLE BUBBLE AND DON’T COMPLAIN ABOUT THINGS UNTIL THEY EFFECT US DIRECTLY.
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of the Mr. World Malta title. He smiles, saying that his grades started suffering towards the end of his second year, so he took the decision of halting his modelling career for a while. He studied diligently through the following 4 years, during which time he also started his prattika with a local law firm. This was a time during which he started learning the ropes of the legal profession, and also getting accustomed to law firm dynamics. Having been through that phase myself, I ask him about his opinion regarding the office culture in law firms. Unfortunately we have to agree that it appears common practice that associates, particularly the younger ones, are expected to forfeit their personal and social lives to further their careers. There is a widespread culture of working exhorbitantly long hours, with limited
Left: Training for Tough Mudder 2013 Below: Matthew with the Winner of Mr World 2003 Bottom: With the team at the finish line
companies as their in house counsel, a choice which led him to spearhead his career AN INDIVIDUAL NEEDS TO BE in the SATISFIED BOTH ON A corporate world. ‘As PROFESSIONAL LEVEL AS WELL AS in house ON A PERSONAL LEVEL counsel, the working environment is completely opportunities for growth different’ he explains. ‘You and self development. This are involved in the day to was what partly led him to accept an offer to join one of day running of the business; you get to see the whole Malta’s leading group of
picture and not focus solely on the legal matter at hand; you sit with the board of directors and liaise with other professionals on a daily basis ‘. This is where Matthew felt he was best able to perform and deliver to the best of his abilities. He explains that these years took him through a learning process which have formed him into the tenacious and versatile professional that he is today. As a naturally reserved and contained person, he feels he is now in
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