A new labor law became effective in Italy as of August 2018 called the Decreto Dignità which has had a significant impact on employment contracts throughout the country.
The passing of the Decreto Dignità had a ripple effect on “fixed term” employment contracts in Italy.
what this means for the employee:
- Maximum duration of fixed-term contracts was reduced from 36 months to 24 months
- Maximum amount of contract extension was reduced from five to four
what this means for the employer:
- The employer will now incur higher contribution costs of each renewal of a fixed-term contract
- The changes now ask the employer to justify what the purpose is of the contractual agreement
- The employer now has a percentage limit to use staffing contracts
In December 2018, amendments were introduced to the newly imposed labor law that moved the effects upward into a positive direction, demonstrating greater flexibility for the temporary employee.
For example, the maximum duration for a temporary employee at one company is not to exceed 24 months. However, an assignment at two or more companies may reach 48 months.
The law now also allows for extensions for case-by-case scenarios of temporary employees, for example if an employee had been previously unemployed, or has reached a certain age.
Also important to note, in terms of a staffing contact, the law now allows for six extensions, and may even be increased to eight for case-by-case scenarios of temporary employees, for example if an employee had been previously unemployed, or has reached a certain age.
The recent changes to the Italian labor laws now challenge both employers and staffing agencies to adapt and think outside-of-the-box when it comes to workforce solutions.