Wages guarantee, de-contribution and ban on dismissals, new measures in the Ristori Decree (Norme & Tributi Plus Diritto – Il Sole 24 Ore, 11 November 2020 – Vittorio De Luca, Debhora Scarano)

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 2021. The latter date is also tied to the extension of the ban on dismissals for economic reasons which is thus further deferred in a generalised manner. The following are excluded from this ban: (i) dismissal justified by final closure of the company’s business and later putting it into liquidation which does not include continuation of the business (even only partly), unless it entails closure of a complex of assets/activities which constitutes a transfer of a company (or business unit) as per art. 2112 c.c.; (ii) case of a company collective agreement, signed by the trade unions comparatively more representative at national level, which includes incentives for termination of employment (limited to workers who decide to subscribe to this agreement); dismissals ordered in the event of bankruptcy, when the company business is not temporarily continued.  Instead, in terms of “de-contribution”, the decree in question states that private employers who do not request emergency wage integration, are exempt from payment of the social security contributions they owe, for a maximum period of 4 months, usable by 31 January 2021, limited to the hours of wage integration already used in June 2020. The additional six months of wages guarantee (both ordinary and derogatory) or wage integration fund (FIS), as mentioned above, must be used within the period between 16 November 2020 and 31 January 2021, while the period of integration previously requested and authorised under the “August Decree” and even partly used in periods after 15 November 2020, are considered part of the six weeks of the “Ristori Decree”. It also states that these additional six weeks of benefits are granted against payment of an additional contribution, calculated inversely proportional to the drop in revenue suffered by the company during the first half of 2020 compared to the same period in 2019. Payment of the additional contribution will not be requested from employers who sustained a reduction of revenue equal to or greater than 20% in the first half of 2020, or those who started their business after 1 January 2019, or are subject to the restrictions introduced by the DPCM of last 28 October.

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