Dignity Decree: Fraudolent staff leasing (Newsletter Norme & Tributi n. 127 – Camera di Commercio Italo-Germanica – Vittorio De Luca, Luciano Vella)

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 It is a type of offence that was originally included in Legislative Decree 276/2003 and later repealed by the Jobs Act.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 specifically, it has been established that, without prejudice to the penalties set out in article 18 of Legislative Decree 276/2003, the staff leasing company and the user must be punished with a fine of EUR 20 for each worker and for each day of staff leasing whenever said staff leasing takes place with the specific purpose of circumventing mandatory laws or any collective bargaining agreement applied to the worker leased. Therefore, it is an actual multi-individual offence, which is combined – due to the protected juridical asset – to the offence established by article 603 bis of the Criminal Code, the so-called “caporalato” [illegal recruitment]. Consequently, the penalties in question, taking place as a mere danger offence, may be deemed occurred any time the exclusive purpose of the action undertaken by the active participants is proven, independently of the event to which said conduct will lead. Considering the preceptive magnitude of the regulation, the Companies shall include in their Organizational, Management and Control Models, specific protections so as to avoid those situations that may lead to the above-described offence.