New laws and regulations
New incentives to hire women
A new law entered into force on 7 July 2024, introducing social security discounts for employers hiring female employees. Specifically, the law introduced a new social security contribution exemption for a maximum of 24 months and within the limit of EUR 650 per month, which can be used by employers that hire women in the period between 1 September 2024 and 31 December 2025. The social security exemption concerns women who have been (i) unemployed for at least six months and are residents in certain areas of Southern Italy, (ii) without regularly paid employment for at least 24 months prior to being hired, wherever they reside, and (iii) unemployed for at least six months, wherever they reside, and working in professions and sectors with an employment gap rate between men and women of at least 25%.
Case law developments
New rules for terminations of employees hired starting from 7 March 2015
The Italian Constitutional Court recently issued two rulings concerning the regime applicable in case of unlawful termination for employees hired starting from 7 March 2015, by companies with a total headcount of more than 15 employees. More in detail:
- For economic redundancies, the court ruled that where the business reason underlying the dismissal is materially inexistent, the employee will be entitled to reinstatement and compensation for damages. On the other hand, the court also clarified that if the business reason underlying the termination materially exists but is not sufficient to justify the dismissal, the unlawfully dismissed employee will only be entitled to compensation for damages.
- For disciplinary dismissals, the court ruled that if the applicable collective bargaining agreement regulating the employment relationship of the dismissed employee provides that a specific disciplinary breach is punishable only with conservative measures (e.g., a written warning, a suspension or an economic fine), the employee is entitled to reinstatement and compensation for damages.
Dismissal of employees during sick leave
The Italian Supreme Court clarified that an employee who is on sick leave and performs activities while ill that are compatible with their ability to work can be lawfully dismissed. In particular, the court also ruled that the employer may engage a private detective to carry out investigations to ascertain whether the employee is carrying out activities that may delay their return to work.
Dismissal of an employee who keeps a lost item
According to a recent ruling issued by the Italian Supreme Court, an employee who finds an item belonging to a customer and keeps it for a certain number of hours cannot be dismissed if the company has not made it a practice to hand over found items to the manager.
