The Firm’s Labour Monthly Roundup collects some of the most important clarifications on new practices and law cases of the current month that are relevant to the following subjects:
Mandatory communications regarding occasional self-employed workers
Through its recent note n. 393/2022, the Italian National Inspectorate of Labour (INL) has reiterated that the obligation to communicate beforehand the start of the working activity to be fulfilled by the principal does not involve occasional collaborations providing intellectual working activities pursuant to Section 2222 of the Italian civil code (for instance, scientific advice rendered from doctors, lawyers enrolled in the relevant Register, from travel guides, translators).
Said obligation is in force, as usual, for the remaining occasional self-employed workers according to Law n. 215/2021, converting Law decree n. 146/2021, which aims at keeping track of and preventing potential misuses of such working relationships.
“Ukraine Decree” (D. L. n. 21/2022) and gas vouchers
Following the recent international events that led to the rising of the cost of living, Decree-Law n. 21, March 21st 2022, has established aids, with a maximum value of 200 Euros each, that the employer may correspond to his/her employees through gas vouchers, meal vouchers and other bonuses as such.
The amount of these benefits is to be considered exempt from taxation and they do not contribute to the generation of employees’ income from working activity.
Civil partnerships as beneficiaries of permits pursuant to L. n. 104/1992
With its Circular letter, n. 36/2022, the Italian social security institution (INPS) has made clear that employees of a private employer who are in a civil partnership will be able to request the benefit of the permits pursuant to Law n. 104/1992 as well, provided that they are looking after the other partner.
Should the case be, the relatives of the other party of the civil union will be able to benefit from the advantages coming from the above-mentioned normative content as well.
Schemes of Legislative Decrees implementing Directives 2019/1158/UE and 2019/1152/UE and paternity leave
The European Union has provided the abovementioned Directives to reach a better balance of working and personal life of employed parents and higher transparency standards of the preventive informative obligations regarding working conditions that lie on the employer.
On March, 31st the Italian Council of Ministries approved the schemes of the Legislative Decrees implementing these UE Directives, according to which the categories of people held responsible for the above-mentioned informative obligations are enlarged, since they now employees hired through non-standard working agreements (collaborative relationships, occasional performances).
On the other hand, the schemes approved in the mentioned terms also set the ground rules for a “smart-working” regime that takes into consideration the needs of working parents (for instance, it is proposed to give priority to requests of remote working coming from people with children under the age of 12 or with disabilities).
The budget law for the year 2022 moves towards this same direction by stabilizing the mandatory paternity leave that has now been raised to a 10-days period of time during which the employee will receive 100% of his normal retribution.
Extensions of “smart-working” derogation regime
Decree-Law n. 24, March 24th 2022 provides for the norms relevant to the “smart-working” regime which are staying in force until June 30th: after this date, employers and employees will be able to still define a working-from-home arrangement, but its core terms and conditions will have to be subscribed by both parties in a written contract.
Latest news regarding the possession and exhibition of “green pass”, and the use of face masks in the workplace
On April, 28th, The Ministry of Health issued an Ordinance, effective on May, 1st, by which it provided that the obligation to exhibit the “green pass” in order to access work offices will no longer be mandatory.
On the other hand, said Ordinance extended the obligation to wear masks in specific closed places up until June, 15th (i.e., long-distance trains and other means of transport, healthcare facilities, cinemas).
Therefore, employers are free to decide whether to impose such obligation on their employees, even though the use of masks is strongly recommended, not to mention that, should an employee contract coronavirus while providing working activities, this will be considered and treated as a workplace injury.
However, said freedom seems to be inconsistent with the latest version of the national anti-contagion Protocol, which dates back to April, 6th 2021 and is still in force, which imposes the use of masks as personal protective equipment in the place of work whenever offices are shared among employees.
While waiting for further provisions amending said Protocol (which are expected to be shortly issued since they are being discussed during these very days between employees’ and employers’ national representatives) it will be necessary to carefully evaluate the opportunity to maintain (or not) the use of masks in the place of work, according to the health protocols adopted at a company level.
The mentioned Ordinance also provides for the obligation to be vaccinated to stay applicable up until the end of the current year for healthcare professionals. Violations are to be sanctioned with the suspension from work; the exhibition of the “green pass” for RSA visitors, hospices and hospital wards is still required to this date as well.
Obligation of telematic communications for principals from digital platforms
The Law Decree n. 152, November 6th 2021 (converted and amended in Law n. 233, December 29th) rules the new obligation to telematically communicate the use of workers contracted via digital platforms, which will be binding starting from April 14th 2022.
The above-mentioned obligation will involve principals whose main activity is normally intermediate by digital platforms; these employers will be required to send such communication within the 20th day of the month following the beginning of the working activity.
In order to fulfil this obligation, a template called “UNI-piattaforme” will be soon available in the private area of the “Servizi Lavoro” portal.
Communication of double-employer working relations
The National Inspectorate of Labour (note n. 315/2022) has offered technical indications regarding the informative obligations binding companies belonging to the same contractual network (so-called “Contratto di Rete”) involved in double-employment regimes pursuant to D.M. n. 205/2021.
It is now provided that the double-employers have to communicate the beginning and the ending of working activities rendered in such terms, within five days from the occurrence of these events – as already ruled for all other kinds of employers.
Companies that had already in place a double-employment contract before the enactment of the law at hand had time to fulfil such obligation up until last March 24th.
Employment transition agreement during CIGS due to company reorganization
The circular letter signed by the Ministry of Labour and Social Policies n. 6/2022 has offered clarifications regarding companies employing more than 15 workers, and that benefitted from the Wage Guarantee Fund (CIGS) based on an internal reorganization that led to transitional processes.
According to the Ministry, given the amendments provided for by the budget law for the year 2022 and, after that, by the “Decreto Sostegni ter”, it is now possible, in the above-mentioned scenarios, to make transitional occupations agreements pursuant toSection 22-ter, Legislative Decree n. 148/2015. In particular, an additional integration of the salary of these workers is now granted for a maximum period of 12 months; this aims to an occupational restoration of employees who face the risk of redundancy, despite the CIGS funds the Company already benefited from.
