Publications

In judgment no. 32412 of 22 November 2023, the Italian Court of Cassation dealt with the lawfulness of a dismissal by the formal employer of a worker employed under a sham outsourcing contract. A worker brought legal proceedings to obtain a declaration of the existence of an employment relationship with the principal company, and that, ....

On April 11, Vittorio De Luca will attend as a panelist at the Annual IBA Employment and Diversity Law Conference 2024 during the panel entitled: “Panel: Breakout session one: Legal obligations in a borderless workplace”.A) for the Annual IBA Employment and Diversity Law Conference 2024. FOCUS The rise of digital nomads, satellite employees and Employers ....

In the case of dismissal for objective reasons, the repêchage obligation may be limited by the fact that the dismissed person does not have the professional skills to perform the other job, even if it is of a lower level. However, this must be demonstrated by facts that are objectively established and proven by the ....

Since the beginning of 2023, a task force at law firm De Luca & Partners has been entirely dedicated to the new decree on Whistleblowing which requires employers to implement a system of safeguards and protection for those who report crimes and irregularities in the workplace. The task force offers legal support to companies in ....

By Order no. 29101 of 19 October 2023, the Italian Supreme Court ruled on the compensation claim for damages in a “straining” case. The employee took legal action because his superior had applied towards him a “stressful” method of control, generating a heated discussion during which the employee had suffered a ischemic attack. The Court ....

  With Order no. 26697 of 21 September 2023, the Italian Court of Cassation ruled that an employer can deny holidays requested by a worker to avoid exceeding the limit of the job retention period only in the event that there are actual and genuine obstacles. The worker’s illness and the job retention period Under ....

In judgment no. 20239 of 14 July 2023, the Court of Cassation dealt with the issue of dismissal due to unsuccessful trial period, in a case in which the probationary period agreement was null and void. The Court ruled that workers subject to the so-called “rising protection” legislation (i.e., workers hired after 7 March 2015) ....

1. DIGITAL REVOLUTION AND LAW The emergence of technologies using artificial intelligence systems has ushered in a new round of debates on the key ethical, social and legal issues surrounding the use of such technologies and their consequences. Modern technologies – with their increasing impact on society and customs – pose the issue of devising ....

Failure to comply with the time limits laid down in the Italian national collective bargaining agreement for the notice of the letter of dismissal constitutes a procedural breach resulting in the application of the indemnification penalty under Article 18(6). The Italian Court of Cassation, with the recent judgment No. 10802 of 21 April 2023, once ....

By order No. 12241 of 9th May, the Labour Division of the Court of Cassation decided on the validity of disciplinary termination of an employee of an IT company who had refused to further study certain operating systems and to update the programmes used by a client. In the case at hand, the judge of the ....

De Luca & Partners signed off on the Italian pages of the Employment & Labour Law guide, 2023 edition published by English publisher Global Legal Insights. The volume gathers information and analysis on employment trends, changes in the legislative framework, relevant rulings, and reforms in progress and under discussion in 18 countries. Aimed at General ....

Protection also extends to shareholders, apprentices, the self-employed, and consultants. Wide-ranging whistleblowing protection. In addition to their current employees and collaborators, private sector companies must also provide protection to employed workers, apprentices, self-employed workers, freelancers and consultants, volunteers and trainees (including unpaid ones), shareholders, those exercising administrative, management, control, supervisory or representative functions (including if ....

The Court of Cassation, in its recent Order No 3361 of 3 February 2023, reiterated its consistent approach concerning the allocation of the burden of proof in anti-discrimination judgments, specifying that the allocation criteria do not follow the ordinary criteria of Article 2729 of the Italian Civil Code, but rather the special ones that establish ....

Poor performance consists of a failure by an employee to fulfil their principal obligation, i.e. to perform their work, and is, according to the majority legal opinion, a subjective justification for dismissal. Recently, the Court of Cassation, Labour Section, in judgment no. 1584 of 19 January ult., reiterated that, in order to legitimately dismiss an ....

In its order no.88 of 3 January 2023, the Supreme Court of Cassation explained the delicateseparation between just cause and justifiability in manager dismissals. The Supreme Court held that for the justifiability of the manager’s dismissal to exist, it is sufficient to prove two of the six disciplinary charges originally contested against the manager. The ....

By judgement no. 15644 of 23 November 2022, the Administrative Court of Lazio clarified, among other things, that the employer is the only person entitled to install audiovisual systems that may enable remote control of the workers’ activity. The case originated from the request of a company providing transport services for others, which, according to ....

The draft legislative decree to transpose the EU directive on whistleblowing has been approved. As the fight against corruption and the protection of whistleblowers progresses this year, those who decide to report wrongdoing, whether in the public or private sector, will be able to do so relying on greater protection. In early December, the government ....

The Italian Court of Cassation, in judgment No 31150 of 21 October 2022, in line with its own precedents, clarified that the prior display of the disciplinary code is not necessary for the validity of the disciplinary dismissal of an employee for performing personal activities during working hours, leaving his workstation without permission and using ....

By order no. 25055 of 22 August 2022, the Italian Court of Cassation has affirmed that in case of transfer of a business – or parts thereof – concerning companies that are in a crisis, or which have been subjected to special administration, when the activity continues or, however, is not terminated, an agreement reached ....

By order no. 24977/2022, filed on 19 August 2022, the Italian court of Cassation held that a notice sent by the Employer to the Unitary Workplace Union Structure (RSU) regarding the staff holiday plan cannot replace the individual notice. The notice, the Court ruled, must indicate, for each addressee, the time period in which s/the ....

The outgoing government focused on labour market regulation as part of its last actions. A choice made necessary by the impending economic crisis, which threatens to put a strain on the national production fabric and employment. The government intervened by issuing the Aiuti (Aid) decree (Decree Law 50/2022) and later the Aiuti-ter decree (Decree Law ....

A disputed written dismissal notice cannot be proved by witnesses, according to the Court of Cassation ruling no. 26532/2022. The dismissal is null and void for a lack of the required legal format In its order no. 26532 of 8 September 2022, the Court of Cassation stated that the power attributed to the Employment Tribunal ....

The 14 October deadline requires companies with more than 50 employees to submit the two-year personnel report for 2020-2021, governed by Article 46 of Legislative Decree 198/2006. This obligation was reformulated by law no. 162/2021. This was issued to continue the gender equality process – a European objective included in the NRP. The changes concerning ....

By an order of 25 April 2022, the Court of Bologna held that the early termination by the employer, effective immediately, of the financial aspects of an enterprise bargaining agreement is anti-union behaviour. The contract in question was valid from 1 June 2019 to 31 March 2023 and was to be renewed year by year, ....

In its order no. 25287 of 24 August 2022, the Court of Cassation ruled on remote controls carried out by the employer and confirmed the legal principles within which the employer may use a detective agency. According to the Supreme Court, the employer may use a detective agency if offences have been committed or there ....

The court may recognise different solutions for identical cases To exclude the proportionality of dismissal, it is not enough to argue that similar conduct committed by other employees has been sanctioned with conservative measures. The court may recognise different solutions for identical cases.  This principle was upheld by the Court of Cassation in Order no. ....

Legislative Decree no. 104 of 27 June 2022, implementing EU Directive no. 2019/1152 on transparent and predictable working conditions was published in the Official Gazette With the publication in the Official Gazette on 29 July 2022, the new provisions set out in Legislative Decree no. 104 of 27 June 2022, implementing EU Directive no. 2019/1152 ....

The Court of Cassation ruled on an employee’s appeal challenging his disciplinary dismissal for a traffic accident while driving a company vehicle, claiming unequal treatment with colleagues who had not suffered such a penalty in similar situations. The Supreme Court declared the appeal inadmissible and stated that for an unreasonable inequality assessment, the possible consideration ....

Chapter III of Legislative Decree 104/2022, implementing the European Transparency Directive 2019/1152, published in the “Official Gazette” 176 of 29 July and in force since 13 August, identified the minimum working conditions requirements. The first provision related to the probationary period maximum duration (Article 7), emphasises certain case law existing principles. The probationary period may ....

More comprehensive information. Reference to collective agreements is insufficient The legislative decree implementing the European Transparency Directive (no. 2019/1152), which must be transposed by 1 August, guarantees workers detailed knowledge of the employment conditions and minimum guarantees of predictability in the conduct of the relationship. Referring to the sector’s collective agreement, which is the case ....

The Court of Justice of the European Union (hereafter: “Court of Justice”), in its 19 May 2022 ruling Case C-33/21, stated that personnel of an airline company established in a Member State, who works for at least 45 minutes per day in an establishment located in another Member State, which coincides with the country of ....

The new reporting obligations for workers that will come into force with the Transparency Directive (2019/1152) will apply to business relationships with a predominantly personal service, long-term consultancies, occasional service contracts and temporary employment. New obligations for employers and principals with the Transparency Directive, 2019/1152. The changes in the draft legislative decree were approved by ....

De Luca & Partners signed off on the Italian pages of the Employment & Labour Law guide, 2022 edition published by English publisher Global Legal Insights. The volume gathers information and analysis on employment trends, changes in the legislative framework, relevant rulings, and reforms in progress and under discussion in 18 countries. Aimed at General ....

Human error is the data controller’s responsibility The Italian Data Protection Authority (“Garante”), in its 28 April 2022 injunction imposed a € 50,000 fine on the National Institute for Insurance against Accidents at Work (“INAIL” or the “Institute”) after three computer incidents. These incidents allowed users to access data relating to others.INAIL, in its capacity ....

In ruling no. 95/2022, the Court of Vicenza held that the acceptance of a collective agreement may be tacit or by conduct, i.e., by actually applying its terms. Once a party can be said to have accepted the agreement, this is binding on such party. In the case at issue, three labour organisations had sued ....

In a judgement of 21 December 2021, the Court of Milan held that, unless specifically stated otherwise in applicable law, a business transfer does not affect the continuity of employment and the maintenance of the rights and obligations arising from it, nor does it prevent the continuity of internal union offices and responsibilities based on ....

Partners and Associates of the Law Firm De Luca & Partners are proud to announce the release of the new handbook “Italian Employment and Labour Law”, edited by Wolters Kluwer, with the grant patronage of “The British Chamber of Commerce for Italy – BCCI”.  In Italy the labour and employment law environment has recently been ....

By Order no. 1621/2021 of 30 December, the Court of Padua stated that there is no general obligation on the employer to negotiate: the employer may legitimately choose the trade union or unions with which to enter into negotiations, and even exclude some of them from the negotiations. Likewise, according to the Court, there is ....

The pandemic has prompted the legislator to identify tools that can help companies and workers overcome the crisis and help companies move towards a new production system.The legislator, responding to social partners’ long-standing requests, has reformed the social safety nets and intervened on the existing inconsistencies to universalise and rationalise them, govern labour market instabilities ....

By Order no. 40409/2021 dated 28 October 2021, lodged on 16 December 2021, the Court of Cassation reconfirmed the general principle that as collective agreements governed by ordinary law are an expression of the negotiating autonomy of the parties to the agreement, they must be considered valid and effective only within the time period agreed ....

By an order of 11 August, the Court of Milan ruled that allowing a company’s official to disseminate hostile messages through the social networks against a union, its representatives and its actions is anti-union behaviour. The Court also found that the Company had encouraged its employees to join another union, by adding a link to ....

In September, the Court of Florence upheld the argument of the local Fiom CIGL (the “Union”) against the conduct of a company in the procedure to cease production permanently, which led to the dismissal of 422 employees. The Court noted that the Union was informed of the company’s intent only when notified of the collective ....

Remote working has exponentially increased due to the Covid-19 health emergency that started in 2020. The advantages and potential of this work method, forcibly experienced at a mass level during the pandemic, oriented many companies towards a new “hybrid” organisation that combines in-person and remote work. Many companies have applied a more flexible organisation that ....

In judgment no. 20819 of 21 July 2021, the Joint Sections of the Italian Court of Cassation in confirming the decision on the merits, ruled that the clause attached to the airline cabin crew employment contract (entitled “Termination of contract”), which was the subject of the trade union’s action, is discriminatory. The clause in question ....

The Court of Justice of the European Union looked at the delicate issue of using religious symbols in the workplace under a ruling published on 15 July 2021, in Joined Cases C-804/18 and C-341/19. According to the Court, the prohibition of wearing any visible form of expression of political, philosophical or religious beliefs in the ....

In an internal letter of the director general sent by e-mail to the directors of the system’s local and sectoral associations, Confindustria expressed its favourable opinion on the Covid-19 green certificate (better known as green pass) to access workplaces. According to the position taken by Confindustria, the presentation of the green certificate should be part ....

Also this year, De Luca & Partners participated in the drafting of the 8th edition of the Employment & Labour Law volume, which is part of the Global Legal Insights collection. The eighth edition of the Employment & Labour Law guide, updated to 2021 and extended to 17 countries around the world, was made available a ....

The principle Health and safety in the workplace – worker’s obligations – refusal to wear a mask – disciplinary relevance – legitimacy of suspension from work and remuneration “Due to the tragic situation which the country and the world experienced because of the Covid-19 epidemic, imposing mask wearing on workers by [the employer], stated in ....

On 12 April 2021, the Palermo Court ruled that early withdrawal by a food delivery company from a fixed term cooperation agreement with a rider was invalid,  as it was the direct consequence of his refusal to accept the governing conditions of the collective agreement chosen by the company and signed by trade unions he ....

With sentence 15763 of 7 June 2021, the Court of Cassation dealt once again with the issue of the time spent by employees to put on or take off their uniform. In the case in question, the Court of Appeal of Rome, reforming the first instance sentence, rejected the request made by the employees of ....

With the recent ruling no. 15118 of 31 May 2021, the Court of Cassation ruled that the initiation of multiple individual dismissal procedures for objective justified reasons under Article 7 of Law 604/66 does not count when calculating the minimum number of five dismissals required to open collective dismissal procedures. The ruling stems from the ....

With decree no. 8609 of 28 March 2021, the Milan Court declared art. 28 of Law no. 300/1970 (“Workers’ Statute”) applicable to employer-coordinated freelance work as per art.  2 of Leg. Decree no. 81/2015. The judge did not hold the employer’s explicit reference to art.  28 above, sufficient for removing precautionary protection for companies that ....

The Appeals Court judge may acquire new documents. The Court of Cassation with its ordinance 11068/2021 ruled on the violation and/or false application of article 414 numbers 4 and 5 and article 420, paragraph 1 of the Code of Civil Procedure, in relation to article 360, paragraph 1, number 3 of the same Code, regarding ....

The Court, with ruling 6495 of 9/3/2021, as per art. 30 of Law No. 300/1970, confirmed union body members have the right to paid time off for meetings. Use for other purposes can justify dismissal. According to the Court, the abstract relevance for punishing the worker’s conduct requires real verification of its seriousness and consideration ....

In a decree dated 28 March 2021, The Court of Milan recognised anti-union conduct under art. 28 of Italian Law no. 300/1970 at a company where a video message was circulated by its Chairman of the Board of Directors, which invited staff to join a trade union and enter into a collective industry agreement.The fact ....

The Cassation Court, in ruling 3542, published 11/2/2021, reiterated case law – if there is no law requiring collective contracts be written based on the freedom of form principle – a unwritten company agreement is still valid. An agreement can be made verbally or by implication. Based on freedom of form and the literal interpretation ....

Non-competition agreement – Agreement nullity – Remuneration – agreement onerousness – Remuneration Determination/Determinability Court of Cassation, 1 March 2021, no.  5540 “Concerning the non-competition agreement entered into with an employee, the mere provision that the agreement is onerous excludes the extreme sanction of the agreement’s nullity may be applied if there is a financial imbalance ....

Under order no. 27757, published 3/12/2020, the Cassation Court confirmed that renewal of a National Collective Bargaining Agreement (CCNL) only signed by some employer associations, has no effect on application of clauses regarding pay even for companies that belong to non-signatory unions. In detail, a worker obtained an order for payment, part for failure to ....

Under the Law No. 81 of 22 May 2017 on “Measures for the protection of non-entrepreneurial self-employment and measures aimed to facilitate flexibility in regard to locations and times of subordinate work”, remote working has been recently regulated in the Italian legal regime for the first time.  This is a flexible style of working, regulated ....

The Court of Cassation, February 3, 2021, no. 2472 ruled that the non-pecuniary damage to professionalism must be traced back to the emerging damage and, as such, not concurrent with the formation of taxable employment income pursuant to art. 49, co. 1, TUIR. The subjection of the sums to tax and social security contributions must ....

Comprehensive reform to be carried out using the ordinary wages guarantee (redundancy) Fund (CIG) as a model. The last year saw the introduction of “extraordinary” income support tools, in terms of the financial resources allocated and also in terms of the type of and procedures for availing of social security cushions during employment. The Decree ....

The FAQ(s) aim to support employers in the correct application of existing legislation resulting from the combination of personal data protection applicable law, workplace health and safety applicable law and emergency regulations. On 17 February 2021, the Italian Data Protection Authority (the “Authority”) published on its institutional website some FAQ(s) (“Frequently Asked Questions”) concerning the ....

On 21 January, the European Parliament approved the resolution containing recommendations to the Commission on the right to disconnection (2019/2181(INL). This term means – as specified by the Parliament – the “right of workers not to engage in work-related tasks or communications outside working hours by means of digital media, such as phone calls, emails ....

 The Supreme Court of Cassation, with its ruling no. 26509, published on 20 November 2020, reaffirmed a principle by which company collective agreements apply erga omnes to all company workers, even if they are not members of negotiating trade unions. Exceptions are workers who joined a different trade union organisation and disagreed with the agreement. ....

The articles written by Vittorio De Luca and Antonella Iacobellis lingers over two aspects regarding to the out-of-court appeal. If the out-of-court appeal as an attachment transmitted via certified e-mail, not digitally signed by the worker and / or the defender, has the value of an act that interrupts the terms of forfeiture pursuant to ....

Since the beginning of February 2020, the Italian public authorities have issued several emergency provisions to contain the risk of contagion and mitigate the economic and social effects of the pandemic ensuring financial support to families, businesses and workers. Furthermore, as consequence of the ongoing emergency the Italian Government continues to postpone the effectiveness of ....

With its judgement 254 of 26 November 2020, the Constitutional Court confirmed its loyal collaboration with the Court of Justice of the European Union and declared inadmissible the constitutional legitimacy issues raised by the Naples Court of Appeal on the Jobs Act provisions related to collective dismissals which violated the selection criteria. The reasoning for ....

The Court of Cassation no. 24208 – 02/11/2020 focused again on the value of the statements made during the inspection for the judge called to assess the existence of the employer’s obligation to pay contributions, especially if the latter has not fulfilled the burden of proof. The Supreme Court held that “The principle of self-sufficiency ....

The discipline of fixed-term employment relationships has undergone important amendments by the emergency legislation which has been the subject, and still is, of a wide debate by doctrine who did not spare themselves in identifying the countless critical profiles and contradictory. The contribution of the Vittorio De Luca and Antonella Iacobellis first offers an high-level ....

The current emergency due to the spread of Covid-19 led the Italian Government to ban dismissals for objective justified reason and suspend layoff proceedings. Initially introduced with the Cure Italy Decree, it was later extended with additional Government conditions. The most recent, art. 12, par. 11, of Decree Law 137/2020 (“Ristori Decree”) extended it until ....

An employment emergency measure package added to Italian Decree Law 137/2020 approved by the Council of Ministers on 28 October 2020, includes a brief extension of the emergency wages guarantee fund (both ordinary and derogatory) and wage integration fund (FIS) equal to six weeks that can be used from 16 November 2020 until 31 January ....

The Spanish Council of Ministers has approved a Royal Decree on remote working “Real Decreto-Ley 28/2020.” These are a set of provisions aimed at balancing employee and employer needs. It was published in the Boe – the equivalent of the Italian Official Gazette, on 23 September 2020. There are eight points of interest within the ....

Supreme Court no. 13613/2020 stated that: “The right of employee to paid annual leave must be considered a fundamental principle of EU social law, which cannot be derogated from and whose implementation by the competent national authorities can only be carried out within the limits explicitly indicated by Directive 2003/88. It is not compatible with ....

Faced with the pandemic emergency in progress, the Legislator and the Government have introduced rules aimed at safeguarding jobs, allowing the use of wage supplements and imposing a ban on dismissal for justified objective reasons pursuant to Article 3 L. n. 604/1966 and collective dismissal pursuant to Law no. 223/1991, except for the following hypotheses: ....

Under order no. 8265/2020, the Court of Cassation defined the representative requirements that a second-level company agreement must contain to be indisputable to third parties, including INPS (National Institute for Social Security). The order disallowed contribution reduction on performance bonuses based on a company agreement signed annually by the employer and a workers’ representative. Ruling ....

The Court of Cassation has ruled on the matter of the fictitious secondment (“posting”) of employees. Sanctions shall be imposed on any undertaking seconding (“posting”) its own employees by way of fictitious secondment (“posting”). The sanctions provided for under the Biagi Law as to a lawful and correct application of the secondment (“posting”) institution must ....

Bill C. 788 was submitted to the Chamber of Deputies in July 2018. Its aim is to define procedures to measure the actual representation of worker unions (“OOSS”) and identify parameters to measure employer organisation representation. The former is based on the average of membership and electoral figures. Membership is calculated by INPS from notices ....

Law no. 77/2020 has amended Article 90, Paragraph 1 related to “Decreto  Rilancio” with reference to Remote Working and it has envisaged that until the end of the epidemiological emergency from COVID-19, the right to carry out remote working is recognized, based on the assessments of doctors competent, even to workers most exposed to the ....

The 2020 online edition of the “International Comparative Legal Guide to Corporate Immigration”, published by the Global Legal Group in partnership with the American Immigration Lawyers Association is now available. The publication includes the latest updates in the matter of corporate immigration in 32 countries of the world, and it is a helpful guide for ....

Also this year, De Luca & Partners participated in the drafting of the 8th edition of the Employment & Labour Law volume, which is part of the Global Legal Insights collection. The eighth edition of the Employment & Labour Law guide, updated to 2020 and extended to 28 countries around the world, was made available ....

On 3 June 2020 the National Labour Inspectorate (“INL”) issued note no. 160, providing explanations related to the amendments and additions made to Italian Decree Law no. 18 of 17 March 2020 (“Save Italy Decree”) converted in Italian Law no. 27 of 24 April 2020, by Italian Law Decree no. 34 of 20 May 2020 ....

On May 2020, the Decree Law no. 34 of 19 May 2020 was published in Official Gazette no. 128 containing “Urgent measures for healthcare, employment, the economy, and social policies related to COVID-19” (“Relaunch Decree”). The Relaunch Decree amends and supplements the Law converting the Save Italy Decree (Law 27, 24 April 2020), mainly for ....

De Luca & Partners, for the special Guida al Lavoro (Employment Guide), describes the legalities of remote or agile working, by tracing the regulations set down by Italian Law no. 81/17 examining in detail, inter alia, the right to disconnect, the requisites of the individual agreement required by the legislation in question, the employer’s control ....

As known, in our legal system the general principle of irreducibility of remuneration is applicable whereby the worker has the right to receive the remuneration agreed upon with the employer. In this regard, the Court of Turin, with the ruling no. 440 of 18 February 2015 had stated that “The principle of irreducibility of remuneration, ....

The so called “Decreto Rilancio” provides with also rules relating to health and safety at work. First of all, to facilitate the phase of the business continuity and restart, Decreto Rilancio establish two tax credits in favor of the employer that carries out intervention in order to prevent the contagion and to limit the risk ....

The fragmented regulatory framework is creating long delays and difficulties for multi-localized companies in accessing the derogated social shock absorbers (in Italian “Cassa integrazione Guadagni in deroga”, CIGD). The regulatory framework imposes on these companies conditions that are incomprehensibly more restrictive and procedures more complex for access to social shock absorbers than, for example, for ....

D.L. 23/2020 was published in the Official Gazette on 8 April. It contains credit and tax support measures for Italian companies (“Liquidity Decree”). The measures include government guarantees on loans from banks where companies have signed loan agreements. The guarantee is provided by a company 100% controlled by the Ministry of Economy and Finance (“SACE ....

The tools used by the remote worker (e.g. laptops and smartphones) to perform their work allow a constant and continuous availability and connection, not only potential but in fact, constant and continuous. And this would risk to compromise the balance between professional and private life which is one of the requirements of remote work. The ....

With the provision of Article 42, paragraph 2, of Decree Law no. 18 of March 17, 2020 (converted, with amendments, by Law no. 27 of April 24, 2020), now known as the “Cura Italia” Decree, it has been definitively sanctioned the assimilation of contagion at work from COVID 19 to an accident at the workplace. ....

Considerations at the time of COVID-19: does the current emergency integrate the hypothesis of force majeure for the suspension of remuneration? Does the current COVID-19 spread pandemic situation integrate the hypothesis of force majeure? In the light of the above questions, it has been deemed appropriate to make some brief reflections on the impact that ....

The emergency measures issued by the Government to manage the pandemic emergency of Covid-19 have attributed, to all intents and purposes, to remote-working also the function of a contagion containment measure and consequently a means to protect workers’ health. Remote-working, in fact, is a way of carrying out work activities that, while allowing them to ....

In order to facilitate the activity of the Prefects at a decisive moment such as that of the so-called Phase 2, the National Labour Inspectorate (“INL”), on 20 April 2020, published note no. 149 (“Note INL no. 149”), with which it provides a real operating guide for its territorial offices, to contribute, at the request ....

The health emergency caused by the spread of the Covid-19 virus also involved a real economic emergency. As known, the “lock-down” and the measures with the aim to preventing the spread of the virus (according to Dpcm of 22 March 2020 )and extended until next 3 May 2020 (according to the Dpcm of 10 April ....

The holiday institute The right to take an annual period of paid leave is a right of constitutional rank according to Article 36 paragraph 3, of the Italian Constitution, which provides that “the worker has right […] to an annual period of paid leave, and he cannot renounce it”. On the other hand, Article 2109 ....

The Court’s ruling 1 on 2 January 2020, stated that the requirements of art. 19 of the Workers’ Statute to establish union representatives, with the rights referred to in section 3, should not be confused with the principles stated in art. 28 of the Statute (unfair labour practice repression). Art. 19 requires signing of national ....

It would be improper to say that, at least until the Covid-19 emergency period is over, the employer is free to decide whether or not to adopt an agile working mode for his employees. This can be seen from the DCPM of 11 March, which provides for maximum use by companies of agile working arrangements ....

Among the measures that have come one after another in these weeks, this is the right time to make some remarks in light of the novelties introduced with Italian Legislative Decree no. 18/2020 “Cura Italia”, effective as of 17 March 2020. First of all, it should be noted that in terms of social safety nets, ....

The Court of Cassation, with ruling no. 2862 filed on 6/2/2020, declared that a single member of the Rappresentanza Sindacale Unitaria (RSU) calling the union meeting is a right by law. According to this court, the 2014 National Multi-Industry Agreement (Representation Consolidating Act) sanctions this right as inviolable. This right is a prerogative to assign ....

The Italian Supreme Court has stated that the rules on employment apply to so-called riders. The issue of riders is affecting the courts at all latitudes of the world. In this regard, a decision has just been issued by the Superior Court of Madrid, which ruled that Spanish riders must be considered employees and therefore ....

The Court of Cassation, in its judgment no. 21537/2019, declared the unilateral termination of the applied NCBA by the employer before its natural expiry date unlawful, even if accompanied by adequate notice. This power lies solely with the signatories of the NCBA, i.e. the trade unions and employers’ associations. According to the Court of Cassation, ....

With Decision No. 17 of 23 January 2020 and in imposing a sanction on an Italian University for not having properly protected the confidentiality of the identification data of two persons – the whistleblowers –, who had reported possible unlawful behaviours, the Italian Data Protection Authority has laid stress on the fact that an obligation ....

The quick technological progress and the rising of new business models are structurally changing the practice of industrial relations in the whole globe. New rules are taking shape in the different jurisdictions to face the new scenarios and the new challenges effectively. The volume “INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS LAW ACROSS THE WORLD – Current legal frameworks and ....

On 19.09.19 Inps, National Labour Inspectorate (Inl), Confindustria, Cgil, Cisl and Uil signed a Convention. It aims to measure and certify how representative trade unions are and substantiate the number of valid Collective Bargaining Agreements thus fighting pirate contracts. The Convention implements the Single Text on representation signed by the social partners on 10.01.14. It ....

In its interesting judgement no. 8 of 2 January 2020, the Supreme Court ruled that, in view of the special nature of the governance of the invalidity of dismissal compared to the general governance of negotiated invalidity, the judge may not of his own motion find any reason for the dismissal to be invalid other ....

On 26 November 2019, Directive of the European Parliament and Council no. 1937/0/201, dated 23 October 2019, concerning the protection of individuals who report breaches of EU law, therefore, concerning whistleblowing, was published in the Official Journal of the European Union. Of specific importance, the provisions of the Directive are revealed, which include: – the ....

The Court of Appeal, by order no. 28285 dated 4 November 2019, (i) established that, in order to resort to labour-only subcontracting, it is necessary that the factual elements in respect of which the court has the possibility of verifying the effectiveness of the grounds must be specified, given that the mere reference to “peaks ....

Decree Law no. 124 of 26 October 2019 on “Urgent provisions in tax matters and for time-critical needs” (so-called Tax Decree) has expanded the Decalogue of prerequisite crimes for the administrative liability of entities. In this case, “fraudulent declaration through the use of invoices or other documents for non-existent operations” (alias the offence of false ....

The Labour Court of Padua, by ruling dated 4 October 2019, established that dismissal for just cause of employees who falsely attest to their presence in the office is permitted – and, therefore, lawful -, even if said conduct is ascertained by the investigative agencies. The case on which the Court of First Instance was ....

The Court of Appeal, by ruling 26029 dated 15 October 2019, reconfirmed that the dismissal of a compulsorily employed employee must be considered voidable in the context of a collective staff reduction procedure if, at the time of the termination of the employment contract, the number of remaining compulsorily employed employees is less than the ....

The Court of Cassation, Fourth Criminal Section, with sentence 35934 of last 09 August, declared a company responsible for the crime of serious injury with violation of safety rules at work. This is because it had not adopted an Organisational Model for health and safety at work suited to prevent the commission of such an ....

Security Decree, in force since December 2018, has amended the Legislative Decree 286/98 (“Immigration Act”) concerning corporate immigration in Italy. The 2019 edition of the international comparative legal guide to corporate immigration, published by Global Legal Group in partnership with American Immigration Lawyers Association, now available for free on line, provides an analysis of 34 ....

The Criminal Division of the Court of Cassation, by judgment 18842/2019, referring to the case law of the Joint Divisions, has again ruled on the subject of administrative liability of entities. Specifically, the Court of Cassation has affirmed that it is the responsibility of the entity – once it has ascertained that certain offences have ....

With the law 96/18 the offence of fraudulent supply of labour has been introduced. This offence is committed when there is a supply activity carried out with the specific purpose of circumventing mandatory rules of law or collective agreement applied to employees. The offence in question is punished with a fine of €20 for each ....

As of 14 November 2018, the scenario of possible consequences in the event of unlawful dismissal of an employee hired in the era of the Jobs Act has radically changed. On that date, in fact, the reasons were published in the Official Gazette for ruling no. 194/2018, with which the Constitutional Court declared the constitutional ....

The sustainable approach to investments is increasingly the benchmark for virtuous entrepreneurs, who place sustainability issues at the center of their entrepreneurial decisions. This is also increasingly the case in relation to the management of their own staff. An indication of this has also come from the Excellence & Innovation HR Award, the prize for ....

By 6 July 2019, Italy will have to adopt Directive (EU) 2017/1371 (the “PIF Directive”) on the fight against fraud to the Union’s financial interests and approved on 5 July 2017 by the Parliament and European Council. Upon its adoption, VAT fraud will fall in the list of offences established by Legislative Decree 231/01. According ....

On 10 January 2019, the Council of the national register of chartered accountants (“Ordine dei Commercialisti”), together with the Italian banking association ABI (“Associazione Bancaria Italiana”), the Consiglio Nazionale Forense and Confindustria, published a document titled “Consolidated principles for defining organisational models and the tasks of the supervisory body and the prospects for a review ....

The grounds of judgment no. 194/2018 – lodged on 9 November – were published in the Official Gazette no. 45 last 14 November 2018. In this judgment, the Constitutional Court ruled that Article 3 (1), Legislative Decree no. 23 of 4 March 2015, is constitutionally illegitimate, limitedly to the words “in the amount equal to ....

Draft law no. 726 (the “DL”), which introduces significant changes to Italian Legislative Decree no. 231/01 is currently being examined by the Justice Committee of the Italian Senate. In particular, the DL provides that certain categories of organisation must have an organisation and management model (OMM231), and appoint a supervisory body (SB). This includes corporations ....

Contribution of De Luca & Partners on human resources as a sustainability objective. The HR is expected to have an increasingly substantial impact, as it can focus the whole organisation on ESG criteria. A sustainability trend was also identified in the projects that competed in the first edition of the Excellence & Innovation HR Award, ....

Legislative Decree 231/2001 introduced for the first time into the Italian legal system the possibility for a corporation to be fined (monetarily and with disqualification penalties) when specific offences (predicate offences) are committed – to its own advantage or in its interest – by top managers or their subordinates. However, the Decree includes an exonerating ....

Law no. 96 dated 9 August 2018, with amendments, converting Law Decree no. 87, dated 12 July 2018 (the so-called “Dignity Decree”), reintroduced in the Italian legislation the offence of fraudulent staff leasing. It is a type of offence that was originally included in Legislative Decree 276/2003 and later repealed by the Jobs Act. More ....

On 19 September Legislative Decree No. 101/2018 entered into force (the “Decree”), laying down provisions to align the national regulatory framework to European Regulation 679/2016 on personal data protection (“GDPR”). The Decree gives the Data Protection Authority (the “Authority”) broad powers as well as significant duties, such as the review of some codes of professional ....

The 2018 Budget Law (Law no. 205 dated 27 December 2017) introduced in the “Code of equal opportunities for men and women” (Legislative Decree 198/2006) new protections against discrimination due to harassment, including sexual harassment, in the workplace. In particular, the Italian legislator – having taken into consideration the widespread occurrence of such conduct – ....

The 2018 online edition of the “International Comparative Legal Guide to Corporate Immigration”, published by the Global Legal Group in partnership with the American Immigration Lawyers Association is now available. The publication includes the latest updates in the matter of corporate immigration in 30 countries of the world, and it is a helpful guide for ....

As established by the Budget Law 2018 (Law No. 205/17), effective 1st July, employers and private clients will have to pay to their workers wages/remunerations and any advance through traceable means. It will no longer be possible to pay by cash and this independently of the type of work relationship established. The law is clearly ....

On 23 April 2018, the European Commission formalised a proposal for a Directive for the protection of whistleblowers (Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on the Protection of Persons reporting on Breaches of Union Law) in all Member States. Its purpose is to standardise the laws currently in force in some Member ....

Law No. 179/2017 has introduced the whistleblowing institution within private employment. As is well-known, this is not a totally new institution for our legal system, since it had already been introduced for the public sector only by Law No. 190/2012, which amended article 54-bis of Legislative Decree No. 165/2001. The new law provision is aimed ....

The European Regulation on the protection natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data has abolished the minimum security measures that were at the basis of the “privacy policy” system and listed in Annex B of Legislative Decree No. 196/03. Pursuant to Article 32 of the Regulation, in fact, the Data Controller and ....

The European Regulation on the Protection of Personal Data is entering into force. Starting from 25 May , 2018, the European Regulation will be fully operative, introducing many news on the matter of privacy; news that companies will have to deal with on a daily basis. First of all, the accountability principle is introduced: more ....

Il 25 maggio 2018 diventerà pienamente applicabile il Regolamento Europeo n. 679 del 2016 sulla protezione dei dati personali (“GDPR”). Ciò determinerà una uniformità della disciplina in materia di trattamento dei dati personali su tutto il territorio europeo. In tal senso, in Italia è stato approvato, in via preliminare, uno schema di decreto che abroga ....

In order to fight abuses against employees and money laundering – an offense detailed in article 25 octies of Legislative Decree No. 231/01 – article 1, paragraph 911 of the Law 205/17 imposes a prohibition on employers and private clients, effective from 1/07/18, to pay remunerations and wages by cash directly to the employee, regardless ....

Article 4 of the Workers’ Statute   – Article 4 of the Workers’ Statute before the Jobs Act After more than forty years, the regulations established by article 4 of Law No. 300 dated 20 May 1970 of the Workers’ Statute on the topic of remote controls have been amended by article 23 of Law ....

On November 8 2017, the Chamber of Deputies cast its final vote approving European Law 2017, comprising 30 articles among which there is the introduction, as part of Law Decree 231/01, of article 25-duodecies. In particular, the regulation introduces among the offences detailed in the Law Decree 231 those of Racism and Xenophobia, as per ....

The sixth edition of the Employment & Labour Law guide, updated to 2018 and extended to 29 countries around the world, was made available a few days ago. The book, published in English by Global Legal Group publisher, is a summary of the trends in the labour market, legislative changes, recent court judgments, employers’ decisions ....

On 25 May, 2018, the European Regulation on the protection of personal data will become fully operative. The Regulation has the primary goal of harmonizing the protection system in terms of privacy at the European level, focusing on the concept of accountability of the Data Controller (in this case, the individual company). This concept entails ....

Dopo un lungo inter parlamentare, durato quasi due anni, il 15 novembre 2017, la Camera dei Deputati ha approvato il disegno di legge n. 2208 che disciplina il cosiddetto whistleblowing. La necessità di adottare tale provvedimento era stata sollecitata, ormai da tempo, da...

“The Jobs Act, and the different provisions that it comprises, including those relating to the progressive entitlements introduced in 2015, has reduced further the scope of application of the actual job guarantee and has set out a compensatory system that, at least in the intention of the law-maker, is certain and not discretionary” said Lawyer ....

Il 25 maggio 2018 diventerà pienamente operativo il Regolamento europeo 2016/679 in materia...

“Industrial Relations Law across the World” came to be thanks to the work carried out by a dozen of professional experts from various countries, on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the firm. The volume, published by Wolters Kluwer and coordinated by De Luca & Partners, analyses the current frameworks and trends that are ....

With judgment dated 5 September 2017, in the case Barbulescu vs. Romania (No. 61496/08), the Grande Chambre of the European Court of Human Rights reversed the previous ruling of the European Court of Human Rights dated 12 January 2016 on the matter of the right to privacy in correspondence, considering it, at the contrary, a ....

The total number of people employed in Lombardy has reached a total of 4 million units, thus exhibiting a...

The Italian Parliament, on May 10, 2017, approved a draft law on the protection of self-employment and flexible labour, which has been in force since June 13. The new legislation includes an entire section dedicated to the new method of performing work, according to the provisions of the so called “smart working”. Article 22 of ....

La sezione lavoro della Corte di cassazione, con la sentenza n. 4262 del 17 febbraio 2017, ha affrontato il tema della legittimità del...

Il modello di organizzazione, gestione e controllo ha, fra gli altri, lo scopo di tutelare l’integrità psicofisica del lavoratore impiegato all’interno di una società. Non per nulla, a seguito dell’introduzione del D.Lgs. 81/08, il legislatore ha arricchito il catalogo dei reati presupposto della responsabilità amministrativa degli enti, facendovi rientrare le ipotesi di omicidio colposo e ....

Competitività, innovazione e conciliazione dei tempi di vita e lavoro, il tutto in sicurezza: sono questi i capisaldi della nuova...

La lotta alla corruzione nel settore privato subisce un importante assesto grazie alla pubblicazione, lo scorso 30 marzo, del D.Lgs. 38/17. La novella normativa ha ampliato la platea dei soggetti attivi autori di reato passibili di sanzione, includendovi, accanto agli amministratori, direttori generali e dirigenti anche i dipendenti che svolgono attività lavorativa con l’esercizio di ....

Lo scorso 28 febbraio è iniziato l’esame al Senato del Ddl n. 2208, recante disposizioni per la tutela degli autori di segnalazioni di reati...

La Corte di Cassazione è tornata a pronunciarsi, con la sentenza n. 52316 del 9.12.16, sulla tortuosa...

Il D.lgs. 136/2016, entrato in vigore lo scorso 22 luglio, ha recepito nel nostro ordinamento le disposizioni comunitarie in materia di distacco dei lavoratori nell’ambito di una prestazione di servizi. Il decreto, che ha abrogato il vecchio D. lgs. 72/2000, racchiude infatti in un unico testo le norme volte ad attuare sia la direttiva 96/71/CE ....

Also this year, De Luca & Partners participated in the drafting of the 5th edition of the Employment & Labour Law volume, which is part of the Global Legal Insights collection. Click here to read the detailed article.  

La Legge n. 199/2016, entrata in vigore lo scorso 4 novembre, ha ampliato l'elenco...

Vittorio De Luca e Federica Parente hanno contribuito alla redazione del Quaderno nr. 68 Commissione...

Con la circolare n. 217 del 2016 l’Inps ha confermato che dal 1° gennaio 2017 l’istituto della mobilità ordinaria cesserà di esistere, così come stabilito dall’art. 2, comma 71, della cosiddetta legge Fornero che...

Il datore di lavoro non può liberamente utilizzare impianti e apparecchiature di controllo per qualsiasi finalità (di tutela dei beni aziendali, di accertamento e prevenzione dei comportamenti illeciti dei dipendenti ecc.), quando derivi anche solo “la possibilità di controllo a distanza dell’attività dei lavoratori”, a prescindere dalle sue intenzioni. Ciò significa che l’attività di vigilanza ....

L'evoluzione del contesto economico-sociale degli ultimi anni ha irrimediabilmente condizionato l'universo lavoristico. La globalizzazione, il crescente peso della concorrenza e il conseguente aumento...

The latest edition of the now traditional HR Breakfast by De Luca & Partners was hosted in Milan...

Sometimes Italy is connoted by a low level of transparency, which indicates a high level of corruption; on a scale of...

Il datore di lavoro, nell'ambito di un equo contemperamento tra il proprio interesse ad avere un'organizzazione efficiente e produttiva e l'interesse del lavoratore alla propria libertà...

The Stability Law for 2016 introduces a special system which allows workers, if they meet certain requirements, to reduce their work hours benefiting from...

With its ruling no. 23620 of 18 November 2015, the Cassation Court has declared dismissal for objective just cause...

A new post-crisis wind is beginning to blow: Italy is recovering its competitiveness and globally recouping its appeal.

The reforms in recent years that have involved...

The implementing legislative decree of the Jobs Act on the overhaul of contract types is ready for publication in the Official Gazette.

Temporary work (or job on call) is an employment contract whereby the worker makes himself available for non-continuous or temporary work, identified by...

The main introductions regarding part-time work concern the topic of working time changes, which has always been a relevant subject for the legislator.

The case examined by the Labour Section of...