Background information

The Rapid Reaction Service is offered to Maltese companies who are experiencing collective redundancies. This pre-emptive measure proactively prevents employees finding themselves unemployed and provides support to the employer to avoid redundancies.

Employers notify planned redundancies to Jobsplus, Malta's national employment services agency. For additional information on the value of these services see Not finished at 50: Keeping older workers in work .

Content of measure

This instrument matches employees with the most suitable job vacancies available in the shortest time possible. Employers are assisted primarily through the upskilling of workers.

This instrument covers all employees holding a valid work permit, including third–country nationals in companies facing redundancies or closure. Eligibility for this instrument depends on the employer’s willingness to contact the national employment agency Jobsplus and inform Jobsplus to activate this instrument in light of anticipated redundancies or closure.

Through this service, employees are provided with a fast-track registration process which makes registration and job search easier and quicker. Each worker is profiled and registered into a suitable part of the register. Then registered employees are offered training opportunities to help them update their knowledge and skills. This rapid reaction intervention includes a session delivering information on registration for alternative employment, creating an online account to facilitate job matching, tips on a preparing a Curriculum Vitae, general Jobsplus services, and general jobseeker advisory services. This session is generally held in collaboration with the Department of Social Security which is the entity responsible for issuing benefits including unemployment benefits.

COVID-19: Jobplus continued to offer this service although it had to change to an online format to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. Jobsplus through a range of online support covered all aspects of this intervention although going strictly online could have presented challenges to the less computer savvy enterprises.

One of the main benefits of this instrument is that it is tailored to the needs of the employers and employees. Therefore, although the format might change depending on the intervention, the general scope of the service remains similar.

Use of measure

Seven separate companies used the services between 2018 and April 2020. Within this period, 233 employees who were going to be made redundant were offered one or more of the services and 133 of these were assisted.

This instrument, previously known as Rapid Reaction Service, remained relevant, although during the last years it was hardly availed of, given that Malta’s economic boom has decreased the number of redundancies. Having said that, Jobsplus insists that it will continue to retain this instrument to reduce and avoid unemployment. Jobsplus added that this instrument also received positive feedback and it was appreciated by clients. Jobsplus latest update on this instrument claims that during March and April 2020, no redundancy interventions were carried out.

According to Jobsplus, it is difficult to provide valid data on the effectiveness of this instrument as one cannot compare the outcome of one intervention to another since many factors affect both the service provision and the eventual outcome.

Jobsplus also noticed that whereas in the past employers were more readily available to collaborate with Jobsplus on such redundancies, recently they came across more and more employers who would either choose not to contact them for such interventions or worse still refused to facilitate Jobsplus intervention with staff.

Another weakness is that there is practically no online awareness of this instrument and it simply might not be availed of because employers might not even be aware of its existence.

Target groups

Workers	Businesses	Citizens
Employees in standard employment	Applies to all businesses	Does not apply to citizens

Actors and funding

Actors	Funding
National government Public employment service	National funds

Social partners

Social partners' role in designing the measure and form of involvement:

	Trade unions	Employers' organisations
Role	Consulted	Consulted
Form	Consultation through tripartite or bipartite social dialogue bodies	Consultation through tripartite or bipartite social dialogue bodies

Social partners' role in the implementation, monitoring and assessment phase:

• Unknown
• Main level of involvement: Unknown

Involvement

Although there is no available information regarding the inception of this measure one could safely assume that this measure was discussed at the Malta Council for Economic and Social Development (MCESD). MCESD is Malta’s main advisory council which is a tripartite body composed of government, unions and employers' representatives. Their task is to issues opinions and recommendations to the Maltese government and formulate solutions.

Views and reactions

Unknown

Sources

• 31 December 2006: Employment and Training Corporation (2006), Annual report 2005-2006. (jobsplus.gov.mt)
• 31 December 2007: Employment and Training Corporation (2007), Annual report 2006-2007 (jobsplus.gov.mt)
• 31 December 2008: Employment and Training Corporation (2009), Annual report 2007-2008 (jobsplus.gov.mt)
• 31 December 2009: ANNUAL REPORT 2009 (ETC) (jobsplus.gov.mt)
• 31 December 2015: Employment and Training Corporation (2016), Annual report 2015 (jobsplus.gov.mt)