Fixed-term employment contracts
If a fixed-term employment contract entered into after 5 May 2023 does not last more than 12 months, it can be extended or renewed without having to specify a specific business need. In any event, fixed-term employment cannot last more than 24 months altogether.
Remote working
"Fragile" employees are now entitled to work remotely until 30 September 2023. To this end, said employees are also entitled to be assigned to different duties, consistent with their job classifications.
Furthermore, until 31 December 2023, the following categories of employees are entitled to work from remote without having to sign any individual agreement:
- Parents with children under age 14, provided that (i) there is no other parent who is unemployed or who benefits from an income support measures in the household, and (ii) working from remote is compatible with the duties carried out by the employees.
- Employees that, following a medical assessment by the company doctor, are considered at high risk for COVID-19, provided that agile work is compatible with the assigned duties.
Even if not strictly required, we still suggest entering into specific remote working agreements with the above employees, with applicable terms and conditions. In any case, it will still be necessary to (i) give the employees, at least once a year, a health and safety information notice, and (ii) inform the Ministry of Labour which employees will work remotely.
Staff supplied by a work agency on an open-end basis
Under Italian law, employers can engage on an open-end basis only a certain number of temporary workers, depending on the applicable bargaining agreement. The new regulations clarify that employees hired by the temporary work agency on an apprenticeship contract do not count for the purposes of determining the maximum number of employees supplied to the employer.
Health and safety
The new amendments specify that the company doctor is required to ask the employees to provide the medical record held by their previous employer (unless this is materially impossible) to carry out the relevant medical checks on the employees' suitability to perform their duties.
