Browse through brief employment and labor law updates from around the globe. Contact a Littler attorney for more information or view our global locations.

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Amendments to Fixed-Term Employment Contracts Framework

New Legislation Enacted

Authors: Carlo Majer, Partner, and Caterina Colombano, Associate – Littler Italy

Law Decree no. 48\2023 (so-called Decreto Lavoro), which was enacted on May 1, 2023, regulates fixed-term employment contracts. The new decree amends the law concerning the so-called "reasons" (causali), which must be included in any fixed-term employment contract that exceeds 12 months. The new causali includes replacement of other employees, as well as reasons provided for in collective agreements (such as those entered at the national, territorial or company level by the national trade union associations and company collective bargaining agreements entered into by their company or unitary trade union representatives).

The regulation also provides that the fixed-term employment contract might be freely extended and renewed in the first 12 months. For purposes of calculating the 12-month maximum duration, only previous contracts entered into as of the effective date of this decree will be considered.

New Employment Decree Has Significant Implications

New Legislation Enacted

Authors: Carlo Majer, Partner, and Caterina Colombano, Associate – Littler Italy

Law Decree no. 48\2023 (Decreto Lavoro), which was enacted on May 1, 2023, amended the employment law in various respects, including:

• Staff-leasing activities (somministrazione di lavoro): amendment of the thresholds for open-ended staff-leasing, impacting apprentices and workers who had been receiving unemployment benefits or redundancy payments or were in a disadvantaged situation for more than six months.
   
• Working transparency condition requirements: simplification of employer obligations to provide employees with a range of information (e.g., vacation leave, initial amount of pay, scheduling of normal working hours). The employer can now simply make reference to applicable provisions in the law or collective agreements. The employers are also obliged to inform the employees of the use of decision-making or monitoring systems only in case they are fully automated.
   
• “Fringe benefits”: Benefits up to EUR 3,000 are exempted from income. Such benefits include the value of goods sold and services rendered to employees with children, as well as the amounts disbursed or reimbursed to the same employees by employers for the payment of household utilities of integrated water service, electricity and natural gas.
   
• Benefits for women victims of violence: In addition to special tax benefits, these employees can enjoy special personalized programs of assistance and re-employment.
   
• Hiring incentives: Contribution exemptions of up to EUR 8,000.00 per year for a maximum of 12 months (or 24 in case of transformation of a fixed-term contract) for employers who hire beneficiaries of the new “assegno di inclusione” or the so-called Neet (young people under the age of 30 not working and not in education or training) registered in a specific youth employment program.
   
• Tax reduction for night and holiday work: For employees of the tourism sector, subject to specific requirements.

New Remote Working Rules

New Legislation Enacted

Authors: Carlo Majer, Partner, and Elena Guerrera, Associate – Littler Italy

Law Decree no. 48\2023 (Decreto Lavoro), which was enacted on May 1, 2023, amended the “smart-working” (lavoro agile) framework in several respects:

• “Fragile” workers: The obligation for employers to allow “smart working” for this group of workers is extended until September 30, 2023. This is without prejudice to more favorable provisions under the collective agreements.
   
• Working parents: If having at least one child under the age of 14 and there is no other parent in the household who is a beneficiary of income support for the suspension or termination of employment or is working, these workers are entitled to perform work in agile mode, even in the absence of the individual agreements and provided that this mode is compatible with the characteristics of the service. This rule applies until December 31, 2023.

Privacy Authority: The Latest Measures

New Regulation or Official Guidance

Authors: Carlo Majer, Partner, and Elena Guerrera, Associate – Littler Italy

With newsletter No. 503 dated May 26, 2023, the Italian Privacy Authority (Garante della Privacy), as part of a case against a clothing company with more than 160 stores in Italy and raised by a report of a union, has underlined that the installation of video surveillance systems, in the absence of an agreement with workers' representatives or a permit from the Labor Inspectorate, violates the GDPR, the Privacy Code and the Workers' Statute (Law. No. 300/1970).

Moreover, the Italian Privacy Authority recently published a guide regarding the application of the GDPR, which is a useful reference in the public and private sectors, particularly for small and medium-sized businesses. The guide provides an overview of the main aspects to consider when implementing the GDPR.