“No more alibis for not hiring” (L’Economia – Il Corriere della Sera, 5 June 2017 – Vittorio De Luca)

With the elimination of vouchers and the obligation to dispose of those already purchased, companies are finding themselves at a crossroads this summer. What contract type is best to adopt to legally hire seasonal workers? “This summer the companies are already looking at solutions that entail doing without vouchers”, stated Vittorio De Luca, Managing Partner of De Luca & Partners. “An employer who needs to hire a worker for a few hours will end up stipulating a freelance type contract which does not include any insurance or pension coverage, and which often results in litigation, or will use temporary work contracts”. A real step backwards for our country, according to the lawyer. “We have lost an opportunity with vouchers. We needed to do more work to reduce the room for misusing them”. Starting from under the table work. “Businesses may be tempted to use less protective contractual instruments for workers. Moreover, temporary work contracts are full of complexities. For example, it is necessary to insure the contract with the temporary agency, as well as deal with a lot of red tape. “Having abolished the voucher instruments on one hand eliminated a possibility for employers but on the other it also got rid of an opportunity for young people and students who could take on occasional jobs added De Luca -. The vouchers were useful for short-term, low paid work, given that the remuneration for workers with no professional qualification is 7 euro per hour”, he continued. In addition, at the same time as a reduction in the possibility of using vouchers, the category of independent contractors was regulated with Jobs Act due. “Since the approval of the contract with increased protection based on seniority there are no more alibis in the country for not hiring with open-end contracts”.