MFSA announces additional measures to safeguard the well-being of its employees and stakeholders

The Malta Financial Services Authority has announced that it will be stopping all external face-to-face meetings and suspended all of its corporate travel due to the spread of COVID-19.

In a circular sent to all employees, the MFSA issued guidelines in relation to its employees’ interactions with external stakeholders.

In order to minimise physical interaction and safeguard the health of both employees and third party stakeholders, with immediate effect, no external face-to-face meetings are being held at the Authority unless unavoidable. Instead, MFSA employees will be using virtual conferencing facilities and tools in order to ensure business continuity and minimise disruption.

Meetings which have already been scheduled have been cancelled, with alternative arrangements to be communicated by the Authority. The MFSA said it “expected all contractors, regulated entities and licensed persons to cooperate fully with these measures in the interest of public health.”

As part of the implementation of its contingency plan, the MFSA suspended all corporate travel for its employees as of 3 March 2020.  In addition to this, employees are being obliged to disclose any personal travel plans before availing themselves of vacation leave.

The MFSA has also slashed its on-site staff complement by half, with the other half working remotely. High-risk groups, such as pregnant employees and those suffering from a chronic disease are to work from home indefinitely it said.

The measures follow a “dry-run” carried out recently which tested the MFSA’s level of preparedness for such circumstances.
In a statement, the MFSA said it was “placing employee well-being at the forefront of its priorities and recognises the need for safeguarding health and good practices for the welfare and safety of its employees and its stakeholders.”