Regulatory Framework
The New Social Insurance for Employment (NASpI), introduced by Legislative Decree No. 22 of 4 March 2015, is the primary income support scheme for employees who have involuntarily lost their job. Its purpose is to provide financial support during the transition period towards new employment.
Although the relevant regulatory framework is well established, its practical application continues to evolve and be refined, mainly through judicial interpretation and INPS administrative practice. Article 3 of Legislative Decree No. 22/2015 sets out the requirements that employees must meet jointly in order to qualify for the NASpI benefit. They are:
1. Involuntary unemployment status: The fundamental requirement is the loss of employment not attributable to the employee’s free choice. Therefore, the benefit is granted in the following cases:
- dismissal for subjective justified reason, objective justified reason or just cause;
- resignation for just cause or resignation submitted by new parents during the protected period (INPS Circular No. 32 of 20 March 2023);
- mutual termination of the employment relationship: either before a protected body within the procedure set out in Article 7 of Law No. 604/66; or following the employee’s refusal to be transferred to another workplace of the same company located more than 50 km from the employee’s residence and/or reachable on average in 80 minutes or more by public transport (INPS Circular No. 142 of 29 July 2015);
- expiry of a fixed-term employment contract.
2. Contribution requirement: The employee must have at least thirteen weeks of unemployment insurance contributions in the four years preceding the start of the unemployment period. For eligibility purposes, all paid weeks are considered valid provided that remuneration has been paid or is due in an amount not lower than the minimum weekly thresholds. Eligible contributions also include those due but not paid, pursuant to the principle of automatic entitlement to benefits under Article 2116 of the Italian Civil Code.
3. Employment requirement: Originally, the legislation required thirty days of actual work in the twelve months preceding unemployment. However, this requirement was abolished for unemployment events occurring on or after 1 January 2022. The 2025 Budget Law introduced a significant amendment to Article 3 of Legislative Decree No. 22/2015 by adding letter c-bis) (Law No. 207/2024). This new provision, applicable to unemployment events occurring on or after 1 January 2025, introduces an additional requirement for employees who, within the twelve months preceding the involuntary termination of employment, voluntarily resigned from a previous permanent employment relationship (Circular No. 98 of 5 June 2025).
In such cases, in order to qualify for NASpI, the employee must be able to demonstrate at least thirteen weeks of contributions accrued after the voluntary resignation. The provision excludes resignations for just cause and resignations submitted during the protected maternity/paternity period, which continue to provide direct access to the benefit. The clear objective is to prevent potential circumvention aimed at artificially creating unemployment status after voluntarily leaving stable employment.
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