1. New Laws and Regulations
1.1 A EUR 200 bonus for employees and freelancers
The Italian Government recently enacted a decree calling for a one-time payment of EUR 200 to all employees and freelancers with an annual income of less than EUR 35,000. For employees, this bonus will have to be paid by employers in the July 2022 payslip and is aimed at sustaining lower income individuals during the current economic downturn. Employers will be able to offset the payment with other tax and social security charges. For freelancers, instructions will be issued shortly by the Government on how to apply for this one-time payment.
1.2 Temps: long-term use until June 30, 2024
Thanks to an amendment to the law on supply of workmanship by work agencies, companies will be able to use temps for periods exceeding 24 months (this is the normal term provided by law). This rule will remain in place until June 30, 2024.
1.3 Gender pay gap certificate and reporting obligations
It will soon be possible for employers to obtain gender equality certification under the new Italian Gender Pay Gap Law. The Ministry for Equal Opportunities issued a decree defining the minimal requirements necessary to obtain this certificate. These parameters are those listed in the UNI/PdR 125:2022 reference practice document. The reference practice lists six areas of KPIs to be taken into account, namely: (i) culture and strategy; (ii) governance; (iii) HR processes; (iv) opportunities for growth and inclusion of women; (v) gender income equality; and (vi) protection of parenthood and life-work balance. The certificate will be issued by accredited authorities and practitioners. The new decree provides that employers must submit a notice, proving its degree of compliance with the above-mentioned reference practice even through internal audits, annually to their internal works councils (if any) as well as to public equal opportunities authorities (known in Italian as consiglieri regionali e territoriali di parità). If the latter find critical issues in the annual notice and/or in the gender pay gap report that companies employing more than 50 employees (previously, reporting was mandatory for companies employing more than 100 employees) must file every two years - the deadline for this year's filing is September 30, 2022 - they can report the employer to the authority that issued the gender equality certificate, if the critical issue is not solved in a reasonable time frame not exceeding 120 days.
2. Case Law Developments
2.1 Gig-economy: uncertainty on the nature of the working relationship of riders
Given the lack of precise statutory provisions, there is still uncertainty on the correct qualification of the working relationship with platform workers as subordinate employees or freelancers. Two territorial labour courts recently ruled on two cases related to work for a food delivery company. Both workers entered into a self-employment contract, received a "rider kit" (containing a jacket, backpack and a cooler bag) and downloaded an app on their phones. Through this app, they could book for shifts of work every week, with a priority mechanism linked to a score based on their performance. The riders were free to accept orders or not but, once accepted, they were required to make the deliveries and were constantly monitored through a geolocation system. One territorial labour court ruled that the working relationship was characterised by subordination, since the service was totally organized by the food delivery company, while the other labour court qualified the relationship as an autonomous collaboration, in light of the riders' freedom to make themselves available or not for shifts offered by the delivery company.
2.2 Dismissal for cause: employers cannot dismiss employees only because they work while on sick leave
According to the Italian Supreme Court, an employer cannot dismiss an employee only because they carried out working activity while on sick leave. In fact, in order for the dismissal to be lawful, the employer must prove that the employee simulated sickness or that the activity carried out was such so as to (even only potentially) prevent or delay the employee's return to work.
