Small backstory:
For the past 6 months I used to work in this job that barely paid me even a livable wage and also didn’t pay me sick days and vacation leave during probation period (I was supposed to get the accured vacation leave paid out after probation). I took an unpaid vacation leave this week (my manager knew since last year) and quit shortly before due to unexpected problems in my home country coming up. My probation period would have been until the end of February.
Since the leave was unpaid anyway due to the probation period not finished yet I just expected them to not pay me the last two weeks of February. But now my manager told me that this is supposed to be deducted from the money I was still supposed to get from the accured vacation leave since September.
I don’t feel like this is legal and he’s just trying to not rip me off for quitting on short notice.
(I’m not a TCN, just for clarity)
https://i.redd.it/hr586mpvjbkg1.jpeg
Posted by laReineDeLaNuit
5 Comments
Vacation days and probationary period are not related. If you are full time you have always 192 hours + plus extra hours “in lieu” of any Public Holidays that fall on weekends or off-days. Check [**here** ](https://freemalta.com/malta-employment-guide-2026.php)
Unfortunately there are some companies and employers who damage the system.
Whether you are TCN or EU does not matter. You have paid vacations days and sick leave.
I recommend you to talk with Dier immediately. They will take care of the rest.
I would contact DIER with the full info. Vacation leave during probation is still paid in full.
The quote from HR seems perfectly fine to me on first glance. They are saying your situation is weird so you can use vacation leave for your 1 week notice period instead of forcing you to come to the office for it.
Upaid leave cause of probation however… is not. But then you are going to end up using your actual leave anyway now to not have to work during your notice period so I guess it’s fine. Plus if your leave was longer than the leave you accrued so far they are technically in their right I believe (the alternative woould’ve just been saying you can’t take the leave), a bit annoying but still correct.
I don’t really see anything illegal here.
The employer has the option to use your vacation leave accrued during your notice period, instead of paying you the notice period + vacation leave entitlement upon termination, so yes this perfectly legal amd you can confirm it with DIER.
Sick leave entitlement depends on the Wage Regulation Order that you fall under, and you might not be entitled to any paid sick leave during probation period (this is actually quite normal).
Vacation leave is accrued from your first day of work, however you do not get the full yearly amount. Some companies, and rightfully so, do not let employees use more vacation leave than they have accrued so far, so for example at the end of January they would let you use 2 days entitlement of January, end of February another 2 days etc, then you get the additional days for public holidays depending on your work schedule.
If you stopped working without giving notice, they cannot deduct your notice from your salary (even though they can take legal action if you fail to pay), but they are within their rights to use your vacation leave for it.
There will be a lot of misinformation going around in these kind of threads, so make sure you contact DIER to get professional advice from them :).
Parking the issue of unpaid sick leave which is serious and other bits in the background story, the post looks legit to me! You employer can deduct notice period from paid leave and effectively bring your end date forward if you are not working.