CORONAVIRUS EMERGENCY – UPDATES
There follows a list of the most important changes.
Data protection Authority
On 2nd March 2020, the Data Protection Authority issued a note in response to the numerous questions raised regarding the possibility for public and private employers to acquire a “self-declaration” from their employees regarding the absence of flu symptoms and facts regarding their private life.
| The Authority hereby states that employers must refrain from collecting information in a systematic and generalized manner on the presence of any possible flu symptoms manifested by the worker and his or her closest contacts or anyway by people outside his or her work environment, also through specific requests to the individual worker or unlawful investigations. |
The goal of preventing the spread of the coronavirus must, indeed, be achieved by subjects that institutionally carry out these functions in a qualified manner: ascertaining and collecting information related to symptoms typical of the coronavirus and to the information on recent trips made by each individual are the job of the health operators and of the system implemented by the civil protection service, that are the authorities assigned the task of guaranteeing respect of the public health rules recently adopted.
| The worker remains under the obligation of informing the employer of any situation of danger for health and safety at the workplace. |
The employer may invite his or her employees, if necessary, to make these communications facilitating the manner they are sent, also preparing dedicated channels; the duty of the employer as regards the need to inform the relevant authorities of any change of the “biological” risk to health at the workplace deriving from coronavirus, and the other fulfilments connected to sanitary surveillance of the workers through the company physician also remain, including but not limited to the possibility of submitting the most exposed workers to an extraordinary visit.
If, during the course of the working activity, the employee carrying out tasks in contact with the public (for example, Public relations offices, over-the-counter services) should come into contact with a suspected coronavirus case, they must communicate the circumstance to the competent health services, also through the employer, and comply with the instructions for prevention provided by the healthcare professionals involved.
Legislative Decree 9/2020
Amongst the envisaged measures the following are pointed out.
SUSPENSION AND EXTENSION OF TERMS
Precompiled tax returns 2020
Article 1
The changes introduced by article 16-a (5), Legislative Decree 124/2019, regarding the extension of the categories of taxpayers who can use the 730 form and reorganization of the terms of tax assistance no longer start from 2021, but already from 2020. For this reason, without prejudice to the term of 10th November for the transmission of the integrative returns, the employees’ Tax Advice Centre and the qualified professionals must complete the communication activities of the final result to the Revenue Office, give the taxpayer a copy of the income tax return and transmit the prepared return electronically to the Revenue office by:
- 15th June of each year, for returns presented by the taxpayer by 31st May;
- 29th June of each year, for returns presented by the taxpayer from 1st to 20th June;
- 23rd July of each year, for returns presented by the taxpayer from 21st June to 15th July;
- 15th September of each year, for returns presented by the taxpayer from 16th July to 31st August;
- 30th September of each year, for returns presented by the taxpayer from 1st to 30th September.
For the year 2020, the term for electronic transmission of the Tax withholding Certification and for their delivery to the interested party has been extended to 31st March.
For the year 2020, the term of 30th April for providing the precompiled tax returns by the revenue office has been extended to 5th May.
For the year 2020, the electronic transmission of data regarding charges and expenses incurred by taxpayers in the previous year and health expenses reimbursed, as well as the data regarding expenses determined by special decrees of the Ministry for the Economy and Finance to the Revenue office by third party subjects, expiring on 28th February, shall be made by 31st March.
The date for filing the precompiled 730 tax form is put back to 30th September.
The envisaged provision of the data of the certifications received by the Revenue Office to the interested parties will apply starting from 2021.
Payment of pension and welfare contributions and of obligatory insurance premiums
Article 5
In the municipalities of the red zone the terms regarding the fulfillment and the payment of the pension and welfare contributions and the obligatory insurance premiums expiring in the period from 23 February 2020 to 30th April 2020 have been suspended. Anything already paid cannot be reimbursed. The suspended fulfilments and payments shall be made from 1st May 2020, even in installments up to a maximum of 5 monthly payments of an equal amount, without any penalties and interest being payable.
Payments of withholdings, contributions and premiums for the tourism-hotel sector
Article 8
For hotel and tourism businesses, travel agencies and tour operators domiciled for tax purposes, with registered offices or operating headquarters in the territory of the State, the terms related to the following have been suspended from 2nd March to 30th April 2020:
- payment of withholdings at source that these subjects make in their capacity of withholding agents;
- fulfilments and payments of pension and welfare contributions and of obligatory insurance premiums.
The suspended payments shall be made, without application of penalties and interest, in a lump sum by 31st May 2020. No reimbursement will be made of withholdings, pension and welfare contributions and of obligatory insurance premiums already paid.
For hotel and tourism businesses, travel agencies and tour operators domiciled for tax purposes, with registered offices or operating headquarters in the Municipalities of the red zone, the terms laid down in article 1 (3) of the Decree of the Ministry for the Economy and Finance dated 24 February 2020 remain in place.
MEASURES REGARDING PRIVATE AND PUBLIC WORK
Normal tax treatment of wage subsidy and ordinary allowance
Article 13
The employers who apply for the concession of normal tax treatment of wage subsidy or access to ordinary allowance, for suspension of reduction of the working activity, for production units located in towns in the red zone, as a consequence of the epidemiologic emergency, are exempted from observing article 14, of Legislative Decree 148/2015 (informing and consulting unions) and the terms of the procedure envisaged by articles 15 (2) (term for presenting the application), and 30 (2) (application for access to ordinary allowance), of this legislative decree, as well as, for the ordinary allowance, from the obligation of agreement, if envisaged. The same conditions apply to applications made by employers for production units outside the municipalities of the red zone, with reference to the workers already resident or domiciled in these Municipalities and unable to carry out their own working activity. In any case, the application must be presented by the end of the fourth month after the one in which the period of suspension or reduction of the working activity began, which in any case may not exceed 3 months.
Exclusively in order for them to be acknowledged, these periods of normal tax treatment of wage subsidy and ordinary allowance are not counted for the purposes of the maximum overall durations envisaged and of the limits envisaged by articles 12, 29 (3 and 4), 30 (1) and 39 of Legislative Decree 148/2015.
The income support services are acknowledged within the maximum limit of expenditure of 5.8 million euros for the year 2020.
The ordinary allowance is also granted to employees with employers registered in the Salary Integration Fund (FIS) that employ an average of more than 5 employees. This tax treatment
cannot be applied to the company cap laid down in article 29 (4), second sentence, of Legislative Decree 148/2015. The benefit is acknowledged within the maximum limit of expenditure of 4.4 million euros for the year 2020.
The workers who are recipients of the indicated rules must be employed by the employers requesting the service as of 23rd February 2020.
The Inps (Social security institute) will monitor the limits of expenditure and if it should emerge that the limit has been reached, even prospectively, then it will not take any further applications into consideration.
Cigo (temporary redundancy scheme) for companies that are already in the Cigs (special redundancy scheme)
Article 14
Companies located in the Municipalities of the red zone that already have an extraordinary wage subsidy treatment in progress as at 23rd February 2020, prior to the Labour Ministry adopting a Decree interrupting the effects of this treatment, may submit an application requesting the concession of ordinary salary integration treatment as laid down by the previous point, acknowledged in the maximum expenditure limit of 0.9 million euro for the year 2020 and for a period in any case not exceeding 3 months. The granting of the ordinary treatment of salary integration is dependent on the interruption of the effects of granting the Cigs previously authorized.
The Inps (Social security institute) will monitor the limit of expenditure and if it should emerge that the limit of expenditure has been reached, even prospectively, then it will not take any further applications into consideration.
Extraordinary wage guarantee scheme under exceptional arrangements
Article 15
Employers of the private sector, including the agricultural one, with production units located in the Municipalities of the red zone, as well as the employers who do not have registered offices or production or operative units in these Municipalities, limited to the workforce resident or domiciled in these Municipalities with an on-going employment relationship, for which the safeguards envisaged by the provisions in force regarding suspension or reduction of hours are not applicable, may apply for Cigd (Extraordinary wage guarantee scheme under exceptional arrangements), for the duration of the suspension of the working relationship and anyway for a maximum period of 3 months starting from 23rd February 2020. The workers are assured about the figurative contribution and the relevant additional charges. Domestic work employers are excluded.
The Extraordinary wage guarantee scheme under exceptional arrangements (Cigd) benefit is acknowledged within the maximum limit of expenditure of 7.3 million euros for the year 2020 and limited to the workers employed as at the same date of 23rd February 2020.
The benefits are granted with the Decree of the affected Regions, to be sent to Inps electronically within 48 hours of their adoption. The division of the overall limit of spending between the affected Regions, for the purposes of respecting the expenditure limits thereof, is regulated with the Director’s Decree of the Ministry of Labour. The Regions, along with the Decree of concession, shall send the list of beneficiaries to Inps, who will pay these benefits. The applications are presented to the Region, which administrates them in chronological order of their presentation. The Inps (Social security institute) will monitor the respect of the limit of expenditure and if it should emerge that it has been reached, even prospectively, then the Regions will not be able to issue other concessionary measures.
The treatment may be granted exclusively with the direct payment method by Inps, applying the regulation laid down by article 44 (6-b), of Legislative Decree 148/2015 (the employer is obliged to send the Institute all the data necessary for paying the salary integration within the same term envisaged for the adjustment or reimbursement request; if this term is not met, the payment of the service and the charges connected to it remain at the expense of the non-fulfilling employer).
Self-employed worker indemnities
Article 16
To the benefit of coordinated consultants and freelancers, agents and trade representatives and freelancers or professionals including business owners, registered with Ago (general obligatory insurance) and with its exclusive and alternative forms, as well as with the separate management of social security and national insurance contributions and who carry out their work as at 23rd February 2020 in the municipalities of the red zone, or who are resident or domiciled therein as at the same date are acknowledged a monthly indemnity of 500 euro for a maximum of 3 months and adapted to the effective period of suspension of the activity. The indemnity does not contribute to the formation of the taxable income base.
The benefits are granted with Decree of the affected Region, to be sent to Inps electronically within 48 hours of their adoption, within the overall limit of expenditure of 5.8 million euros for the year 2020. The division of the limit of expenditure between the affected Regions, for the purposes of respecting the expenditure limits thereof, is regulated with the Director’s Decree of the Ministry of Labour. The Regions, along with the Decree of concession, shall send the list of beneficiaries to Inps, who will pay these benefits. The applications are presented to the Region, which administrates them in chronological order of their presentation. The Inps (Social security institute) will monitor the respect of the limit of expenditure and if it should emerge that the limit of expenditure has been reached, even prospectively, then the Regions will not be able to issue other concessionary measures.
Extraordinary wage guarantee scheme under exceptional arrangements for Lombardy, Veneto and Emilia-Romagna
Article 17
Outside the cases laid down by article 15, the Regions of Lombardy, Veneto and Emilia-Romagna, with reference to employers of the private sector, including the agricultural one, with production units located therein, as well as the employers who do not have registered offices or production or operative units in these municipalities, limited to the workforce resident or domiciled in these Regions with an on-going employment relationship, for which the safeguards envisaged by the provisions in force regarding suspension or reduction of hours are not applicable, may be acknowledged the extraordinary wage guarantee scheme under exceptional arrangements (Cigd) benefit, limited to the cases of ascertained damage, as a consequence of the orders issued by the Ministry of Health, in agreement with the Regions, within the measures taken on with Decree Law 6/2020 and prior to agreement with the comparatively most representative union organizations, for the duration of the suspension of the working relationship and anyway for a maximum period of 1 month and up to a maximum amount, for the year 2020 of 135 million euro for the Lombardy Region, 40 million euro for the Veneto Region and 25 million euro for the Emilia-Romagna Region. The workers are assured about the figurative contribution and the relevant additional charges. The benefit, limited to the workers of the agricultural sector, for the hours of reduction or suspension of the activities, within the limits envisaged therein, cannot be considered the equivalent of work for the purposes of calculating the agricultural unemployment schemes. Domestic work employers are excluded.
The benefit is acknowledged within the maximum limit of 1 month drawing on the resources, assigned to the indicated Regions and not used, as laid down by article 44 (6-a), of Legislative Decree 148/2015, also in alternative to the active labor policy actions envisaged in this article, starting from 23 February 2020 and limited to the employees in force as at the same date.
The benefits are granted with Decree of the affected Regions, to be sent to Inps electronically within 48 hours of their adoption, whose effectiveness is anyway dependent on verifying the respect of the limit of expenditure. The Regions, along with the Decree of concession, shall send the list of beneficiaries to Inps, who will pay these benefits, after verifying, even prospectively, the respect of the limits of expenditure. The applications are presented to the Region, which administrates them in chronological order of their presentation. The Inps (Social security institute) will monitor the respect of the limit of expenditure and if this monitoring should evidence that the limit of expenditure has been reached, even prospectively, then the Regions will not, in any case, be able to issue other concessionary measures.
The treatment may be granted exclusively with the direct payment method of the benefit by Inps, applying the regulation laid down by article 44 (6-b), of Legislative Decree 148/2015, already mentioned.
FINAL AND FINANCIAL PROVISIONS
Entry in force
Article 37
The Decree came into force on 2nd March 2020 and will be presented to Parliament for conversion into Law.
The office remains at your disposal for any further clarification.
De Carlo Arianna – adecarlo@ldp-payroll.com
Head of Payroll Department