The holiday institute

The right to take an annual period of paid leave is a right of constitutional rank according to Article 36 paragraph 3, of the Italian Constitution, which provides that “the worker has right […] to an annual period of paid leave, and he cannot renounce it”.

On the other hand, Article 2109 Italian Civil Code is also concerned with the institution of holidays: “The employee has […] also right […] to an annual period of paid leave, if possible continuous, in the time that the employer establishes, taking into account the needs of the company and the interests of the employee. The duration of this period shall be determined by law, custom or equity.  The employer must inform in advance the employee with reference to the period of the holidays. The notice period provided with Article 2118 may not be counted in the annual paid leave”.

Source: full italian version published by Guida al lavoro – Il Sole 24 ore.

Vittorio De Luca took part in the webinar organized by Talent Garden to present an overview of the innovations in labour law contained in the Italian Law Decree no. 18/2020 .

In his report Vittorio took stock of the social shock absorbers and the new “smart trade union” consultation, to use the definition coined by the speaker.

This trade union consultation introduced by the Decree represents an absolute novelty in our labour law, not only in terms of record duration, but also for the express provision of the “telematic” mode.

Together with Vittorio, the speaker was also Simone Zucchetti, partner of Studio Tremonti Vitali Romagnoli Piccardi e Associati, who carried out an in-depth examination of the interesting measures in support of companies provided for by art. 55 of the Italian Law Decree No. 18/2020.

During the conference, Vittorio De Luca took turns with Simone Zucchetti also in answering the stimulating questions proposed by the Community of Talent Garden.

It would be improper to say that, at least until the Covid-19 emergency period is over, the employer is free to decide whether or not to adopt an agile working mode for his employees. This can be seen from the DCPM of 11 March, which provides for maximum use by companies of agile working arrangements for activities that can be carried out at home or remotely.

Companies that did not want to activate Agile Work – or Remote Working, as many prefer to call it – in case of infection with the virus contracted in the performance of work in the company, may have to justify their decisions.

Until the emergency is underway, in fact, work in “Agile” mode will represent a real preventive measure that the employer must adopt to avoid exposing his staff to the contagion.

Read more here.

Among the measures that have come one after another in these weeks, this is the right time to make some remarks in light of the novelties introduced with Italian Legislative Decree no. 18/2020 “Cura Italia”, effective as of 17 March 2020.

First of all, it should be noted that in terms of social safety nets, the redundancy scheme included in our legal system is certainly one of the most favorable if compared with the main western countries and therefore a special law should not be necessary except to offer coverage to companies excluded from its benefits at present.

Keep reading Vittorio De Luca’s interview here.

Among the measures that have come one after another in these weeks, this is the right time to make some remarks in light of the novelties introduced with Italian Legislative Decree no. 18/2020 “Cura Italia”, effective as of 17 March 2020.

First of all, it should be noted that in terms of social safety nets, the redundancy scheme included in our legal system is certainly one of the most favorable if compared with the main western countries and therefore a special law should not be necessary except to offer coverage to companies excluded from its benefits at present.

In terms of these companies, it has become very clear that the logic followed by the 2014 legislation (Law no. 183/14) for the reform of social safety nets basically focused on the desire to take into “account the special natures of various manufacturing sectors”, appears less and less adequate with the need to provide companies with uniform instruments able to offer solutions and coverage for systemic problems like the one generated by the most famous virus at present.

That said, we know that the Cura Italia Decree introduces extraordinary provisions for access to social safety nets for companies forced to reduce or suspend work due to the COVID-19 emergency.

The aforesaid Decree – among the multitude of included interventions – on one hand introduces an exception to the redundancy scheme and on the other provides the possibility of easy access to the ordinary redundancy scheme and wage integration fund.

Basically, the use of the ordinary redundancy scheme and wage integration fund has been simplified, since a “fast track” welfare consultation needs to be performed, upon request of trade union organizations within 3 (three) days.

This introduced consultation represents something brand new, not just due to the short, record-breaking deadline, but also due to the innovative “electronic” procedures which the same urgent law allows and includes.

We confirm that the solutions proposed by the current government to make the intervention of social safety nets more effective and resolutive, and believe that – once the emergency period is over – the law wants to introduce universal type social safety nets, i.e. applicable to all workers, regardless of their sector, just like it did with unemployment benefits (so-called NASPI) in 2015.