Article 2 (31) of Law no. 92/2012 (so-called Fornero Law) introduced the payment of a fee by the employers, in relation to each worker dismissed from permanent employment, in all cases that, regardless of the contribution requirement, qualify for the ASPI unemployment allowance (presently, NASPI). The amount due is equal to 41% of the NASPI’s maximum monthly amount for each year of seniority in the last three years (so-called “Termination fee“). In regard to 2019, in Circular Letter no. 5/2019, INPS has set out that the salary to be used for the calculation of the NASPI unemployment allowance is equal to Euro 1,221.46. Therefore, the companies that dismiss a worker in the current year must remit to INPS a termination fee equal to Euro 500.79 (41% of Euro 1,221.46, as opposed to Euro 495.34 of 2018) for each year of seniority accrued by the worker, up to the maximum amount of Euro 1,502.36 (as opposed to Euro 1,486.02 in 2018). According to INPS Circular Letter no. 44/2013, the Termination fee must be paid within the 16th day of the second month after the end of the month in which the termination of employment has occurred. The 2018 Budget Law introduced amendments to the legislation governing the fee in case of collective layoffs, setting forth a higher percentage for NASPI maximum amount for each year of seniority in the last three years, from 41% to 82%. Therefore, in the event of collective layoffs, the 2019 fee is equal to Euro 1,001.59, up to the maximum amount of Euro 3,004.79. The amount as provided for by Article 2 (35) of the Fornero Law is multiplied by three in the event of collective layoffs without agreement with the trade unions.

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With its judgement no. 1091/2017, the Court of Milan has ruled again on the expiry of the limitation period of wage claims, in light of the modifications introduced by Law no. 92/2012 (so-called Fornero Law) to Article 18, Workers’ Charter. In particular, the judgement at hand reiterated that following the entry into force of the Fornero Law, the expiry of the limitation period of wage claims shall be suspended until termination of employment, also in regard to the contracts subject to the regime of novel Article 18, Law no. 300/1970. In fact, the court of first instance has underlined that “it behoves to acknowledge that the entry into force on 18 July 2012 of Law no. 92/2012, which has modified the real guarantee referred to in Article 18, Workers’ Charter, providing, in par. 5 of said Article, for a few instances in which, even in regard to an illegitimate dismissal from work, only a compensatory guarantee remains, with no possibility for the employee to be reinstated, in a similar way to obligatory guarantees (even though with higher compensation amounts)”; consequently, employees may “incur in the fear of dismissal when asserting their rights, in light of a diminished resistance of their stability.” This judgement is consistent with two substantive rulings passed in 2016 by the Court of Milan and by the Court of Turin.