The employment decree converted: Novelties
In the G.U. (Gazzetta Ufficiale) on July 3, 2023, no. 153, the Law no. 85 of July 3, 2023, converting the Decree Law 48/2023 (known as the “Employment” decree) has been published.
Here are the main novelties emerged during the parliamentary conversion process of the examined decree:
Changes to fixed-term contract regulations (Article 24)
As part of the conversion, it is provided that, just like in the case of extension, the renewal of a fixed-term contract can also be freely done within the first 12 months. However, after surpassing the initial 12 months, it will be necessary to indicate the specific reasons listed in Article 19, paragraph 1 of Legislative Decree no. 81/2015. For calculating the 12-month period, only contracts entered into starting from the date of entry into force of the Decree Law 48/2023, which is May 5, 2023, will be considered.
Changes to agency work regulations (Article 24, paragraph 1-quater): A new provision was added during the conversion, amending Article 31 of Legislative Decree no. 81/2015 dated June 15, 2015, which defines the quantitative limit for resorting to indefinite-term agency work contracts. As per the existing provision in Legislative Decree no. 81/2015, unless otherwise provided by collective agreements applied by the user, the number of agency workers employed under indefinite-term agency work contracts cannot exceed 20% of the number of permanent workers employed by the user as of January 1 of the year in which the contract was signed. In case the decimal is equal to or higher than 0.5, it is rounded up to the nearest integer. The new provision introduced during the conversion excludes from this limit calculation:
- Workers with an apprenticeship contract with the agency providing the work.
- Individuals in mobility according to the repealed Article 8, paragraph 2, of Law no. 223/91.
- Unemployed individuals who have been receiving non-agricultural unemployment benefits (NASpI) or social safety net payments for at least 6 months.
- Disadvantaged or severely disadvantaged workers as defined in numbers 4 and 99 of Article 2, paragraph 1, of EU Regulation no. 651/2014.
Transparency updates (Article 26)
The current measure introduces certain simplifications regarding the information obligations imposed on employers under Article 1 of Legislative Decree no. 152/1997, with partial modification of what was provided in Decree Law no. 104/2022 (known as the “Transparency” decree). Among these, employers are now allowed to communicate specific information to employees by indicating the relevant legal references or collective agreements, including company-level agreements, governing the respective matters. As part of the conversion into law, the reference to Article 1, paragraph 1, letter p) of Legislative Decree no. 157/92 was removed. This article had required employers to inform employees about:
- The variability of work schedules.
- The minimum amount of guaranteed paid hours and additional remuneration for work performed beyond the guaranteed hours.
- The hours and reference days in which the employee is required to work.
- The minimum notice period before the start of work and, if allowed by the type of contract in use and agreed upon, the deadline for the employer to cancel the assignment.
Updates on occasional work arrangements (Article 37)
The legislation now regulates occasional work contracts. Particularly, in cases where such contracts are used in congresses, fairs, events, thermal establishments, and amusement parks, the following changes have been introduced:
- The overall annual limit of compensation payable to each occasional worker by the same employer has been increased from €10,000.00 to €15,000.00.
- The exclusion from the possibility of using occasional work arrangements has been limited, and only employers with more than 25 permanent employees are excluded.
Furthermore, during the conversion into law, the regulations governing the acquisition and use of the “Family Booklet” for occasional work arrangements in specific areas were integrated.
Remote work extension (Article 42, paragraph 3-bis): During the conversion of the discussed decree into law, the deadline of June 30, 2023, for the provision outlined in Article 10, paragraph 2, of Decree Law no. 24/2022 (converted into Law no. 52/2022), concerning the right to remote work for:
- Private sector employees with children under the age of 14 (if there is no other parent in the same household benefiting from income support measures in case of work suspension or termination and no non-working parent).
- Vulnerable workers, based on assessments by medical experts due to their higher risk of contagion by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, under Article 90, paragraphs 1 and 2, of Decree Law no. 34/2020 (converted into Law no. 77/2020), as long as remote work is compatible with the nature of the work, has been extended until December 31, 2023.
Inclusion allowance (Articles 1 – 9)
Starting from January 1, 2024, the legislation introduces a national measure to combat poverty, vulnerability, and social exclusion of the most vulnerable segments through social integration, training, work, and active labor policies, called the inclusion allowance. The benefit is granted to families with at least one of the following members:
- A person with disabilities under DM 159/2013.
- A minor.
- A person aged at least 60 years.
During the conversion process, the scope of beneficiaries has been extended to families with members facing disadvantages and enrolled in care and assistance programs provided by territorial socio-health services certified by the Public Administration. Additionally, as per Article 13, paragraph 6-bis, of the “Employment” decree, recipients of the inclusion allowance are included among those who can be employed through occasional fixed-term agricultural contracts.
Furthermore, as per Article 9 of the “Employment” decree, the beneficiary of the allowance, when taking up work supported by the competent labor services, must accept a job offer for an indefinite-term employment without any distance limitations within the national territory. During the conversion into law, it was specified that this requirement applies exclusively when the family includes children under the age of 14 and the workplace is within 80 km from the individual’s residence or reachable within a maximum travel time of 120 minutes using public transportation.
Exemption from social security debts (Article 23-bis)
During the conversion process of the “Employment” decree, a measure for social security protection was introduced for self-employed workers (artisans, traders, agricultural self-employed workers), and professionals registered with INPS (Italian National Social Security Institute) who benefited from the automatic exemption from social security debts under Article 1, paragraph 222, of Law no. 197/2022. In summary, the new provision allows the aforementioned subjects – in order to safeguard their insurance status – to request a recalculation of canceled debts from the social security institution and settle the amount either as a lump sum or in monthly installments by December 31, 2023.
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