Employees of the private sector who will reach the retiring age by 31 December 2018 will be eligible for a subsidy associated to a reduction of the working hours agreed with their employer (the so called “subsidized part-time”) subject to a number of conditions.
In detail, subsidized part-time may be applicable to anyone who:
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was born in the month of May 1952 or earlier and, at the time of the subsidy request, has accrued seniority contributions for at least 20 years to the general compulsory insurance (AGO) or to its alternative or exclusive forms;
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has a full-time permanent employment contract;
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enters into an agreement with his/her employer for a 40% to 60% reduction of contractually-agreed working hours.
In so doing, the employee shall obtain:
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in the monthly payslip and at the employer’s cost, an all-inclusive amount – which does not concur to form part of the employee’s income – equal to the social security contribution towards the pension plan for the portion of work no longer performed, as well as
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recognition of the notional social security contributions in respect to the work no longer performed, as mentioned above.
This scheme, if accompanied by other types of employment contracts currently made available by the law (such as, for example, internship), could promote generational change within companies.