Jobsplus - Ministry for Education and Employmentt: 2598 2280 / 25982283 w: education.gov.mt/youthguarantee fb: facebook.com/youthguaranteemalta/ t: twitter.com/YGMalta

NEET Activation Scheme II

Employer’s FAQs

Operational Programme II - European Structural and Investment Funds 2014-2020

“Investing in human capital to create more opportunities and promote the well being of society”

Project part-financed by the European Social FundCo-financing rate: 80% European Union; 20% National Funds

I WISH TO TERMINATE THE PARTICIPANT’S WORK EXPOSURE EARLY, WHAT SHOULD I DO?Premature termination of a work exposure should not be taken lightly, and should only occur in case of a serious issue which has not been resolved after discussion with the Youth Guarantee team.

Inform the Youth Guarantee team accordingly, however, if there is a persistent issue with the participant, the best way forward is to discuss it with the monitoring officer or a Jobsplus representative who will provide you with the most suitable direction to take.

WHEN IS THE PARTICIPANT PAID?Participants are paid every 4-5 weeks. In order to facilitate the process, you will be receiving an email from the Youth Guarantee team where you will have the opportunity to send scans of the duly filled in attendance sheets (in blue ink and signed). Hard copies will be collected periodically in person by the Youth Guarantee team.

HOW MUCH ARE PARTICIPANTS PAID?Participants are paid at an hourly rate of €4.50 according to the number of hours worked.

WHAT SHOULD I DO IF I AM HAVING TROUBLE WITH THE PARTICIPANTS DURING WORK EXPOSURE?It is important to keep in constant contact with the Youth Guarantee team so as to flag any issues with participants as soon as they arise. Based on the severity of the case, employers can either inform the monitoring officer who will be visiting the workplace periodically, or contact the Youth Guarantee Office.

We would urge employers to refrain from hasty action and make full use of the various professionals employed by the Youth Guarantee project who can provide support to both the participant and the employer.

WHAT PAPER WORK DO I HAVE TO FILL IN?There are two documents which need to be filled in, the work exposure contract and attendance sheets.

The work exposure contract needs to be signed and initialized at the beginning of the work exposure scheme, and details the terms and conditions between the three parties: Youth Guarantee, the employer, and the participants.

The next document is the weekly attendance sheet which needs to be signed by both the employer (or an employer’s representative) and the participant. This attendance should list clearly the number of hours which the participant worked. Moreover, kindly keep in mind that there should be a break of 15 or more minutes present in the attendance sheets, if the participant works for more than 6 hours straight.

The Youth Guarantee office will send you an email with further details regarding data collection. This email will give you the details of the work placement together with the start date and hours left for the participant within the work placement. Within this email, you will be requested to send the soft copies of the signed contract together with the signed attendance sheets. This way we will guarantee that, no documentation is lost.

The hard copy of the signed contract and the hard copies of the signed attendance sheets will be collected throughout the monthly pickups organized by the Youth Guarantee staff or at the end of the work exposure period.

It is important that both documents are signed in blue ink.

I HAVE A COMPLAINT, WHO CAN I SPEAK TO?Complaints, feedback, or queries can be directed towards the Youth Guarantee office.

HOW DO I GET IN TOUCH WITH THE YOUTH GUARANTEE OFFICE?You may get in touch with officers at Youth Guarantee either by sending an email on youthguarantee@gov.mt, or by calling 2598 2280/3. Alternatively, you can get in touch with us through our Facebook page at Youth Guarantee Malta. Our opening hours are Monday to Friday from 9 am - 4.30 pm.

WHAT SHOULD I EXPECT FROM THE PARTICIPANTS OF THE YOUTH GUARANTEE SCHEME?Participants enter the Youth Guarantee scheme with different experiences and levels of training. We will always try to match participants with a work exposure that corresponds to their level of education and experience as well as preference, to ensure that the work exposure is a smooth experience which enhances their job opportunities.

Many of the young people do not have much work experience so they may experience certain issues during the initial phase of the work experience. However, with additional support provided when necessary from the Youth Guarantee Team and some patience from the employers has resulted in many participants being retained as full-time employees, and becoming valuable assets for their employers.

HOW MANY MONTHS/WEEKS DO PARTICIPANTS NEED TO SPEND AT THE WORK EXPOSURE?The way the work exposure is calculated in the work experience contract is not in definite months or weeks but in hours. Participants are required to work 240 hours, which normally translates to 20 hours a week, for 12 weeks or 3 months.

Participants can however finish earlier if they work longer hours during a week, or later if they miss some of the weeks. If you are in doubt as to what stage the participant you are hosting is in it is best to contact the Youth Guarantee Team

DO THERE HAVE TO BE SO MANY MONITORING VISITS?EU funding rules require that all participants are frequently monitored both as a measure of obtaining feedback from the employer but also to safeguard against any abuse. While some of the monitoring can be coordinated so that it is carried out at a time convenient to the employer, some checks are mandatorily spontaneous.

The Youth Guarantee team, in cooperation with Jobsplus, will consistently strive to minimize any inconvenience caused while fulfilling all obligations under EU funding rules.

DO I HAVE TO PRINT A POSTER?In line with EU funding visual representative guidelines, all EU projects are required to have posters and visually identifying media indicating it is an EU-funded project. Posters are therefore an important requirement for hosting a participant. Posters should be put in a prominent place where they can be seen easily by our monitoring staff. Should you require any posters do not hesitate to contact the Youth Guarantee team.

I WISH TO RETAIN THE PARTICIPANT AFTER THE WORK EXPOSURE, WHAT SHOULD I DO?Should you wish to retain a participant, you should inform as soon as possible the monitoring officer who will inform you of all the schemes that Jobsplus offers. Employers may then fill out an engagement form, which can be accessed from the Jobsplus website www.jobsplus.gov.mt, or ask the monitoring officer or other Jobsplus official to provide you with a hard copy of the form.

I WISH TO EMPLOY THE PARTICIPANT ON A FULL-TIME BASIS BEFORE THE END OF THE WORK EXPOSURE, WHAT SHOULD I DO?There are two options. The participant may opt to work the remainder of his hours within the NEET Activation Scheme II on a full-time basis, at the end of which an employer can fill in an engagement form to continue with full time employment. This is the preferred option.

Alternatively, an employer can inform the Youth Guarantee team that they want to terminate the participants contracts and fill in an engagement form and proceeed accordingly.

CAN I HAVE MORE THAN ONE PARTICIPANT DOING THE WORK EXPOSURE?While there are no regulations specifically prohibiting more than one participant at the same place of employment, the aim of the work exposure is to provide a gateway into employment.

Employers are therefore encouraged not to request more than one participant if they do not have the potential capacity to offer employment to all the participants, provided that the participant perform to their satisfaction.