The Government’s first Decree Law on employment contracts is on its way

The first decree law on employment contracts is already ready on the table of the Council of Ministers, that is the so-called Dignity Decree, which could be approved in the month of July. Amongst the main new developments, one may find the reform of fixed-term contracts, aimed at fostering the entering into of indefinite employment contracts and at fighting against precariousness. In particular, there is a reintroduction of the obligation, removed by decree law No. 34/2014 (the so-called Poletti decree), concerning the grounds justifying the fixing of a term to the contract. In other words, we would be returning to having to mention the underlying grounds in the fixed-term agreement. Furthermore, the extensions should be reduced to a maximum of 4. To date, the maximum duration of fixed-term contracts is of 36 months and the latter may be extended up to a maximum of 5 times, regardless of the number of renewals. In any event, a temporary period should be foreseen, in order to avoid “shaking the company’s business and the contracts in force”. The Government is also working on a reform of the job centres and on intervening in active policies.