Inclusion Allowance
As from 1 January 2024, the Inclusion Allowance is established as a measure of economic support and social and professional inclusion, aimed at supporting members of households with disabilities, who are minors or at least 60 years old.
Private employers who hire the beneficiaries of the Inclusion Allowance can benefit, for a maximum period of 12 months (and in any case not beyond the duration of the relationship, if determined), from contribution relief up to 100% up to a maximum amount of € 8,000.00 in the case of employment with an open-ended employment contract (full or part-time, also by means of an apprenticeship contract) and up to 50% in the case of employment with a fixed-term or seasonal contract, also part-time, for a maximum amount of € 4,000.00. The relief from social security contributions also applies in the case of conversion of fixed-term to open-ended contracts, up to a maximum of 24 months.
The conditions for entitlement to the relief are:
- the inclusion of the job offer by the employer in the SISL information system, through the INPS portal,
- being in compliance with the recruitment of disabled workers’ obligations,
- the maintenance of employment of the worker receiving the above allowance for a period of at least 24 months. In the event of dismissal before 24 months from the date of recruitment, the employer will be required to return the incentive plus civil penalties; this, of course, unless the dismissal is for just cause or justified reason.
Safety at Work
Obligations of the employer and H&S manager
The employer’s and H&S manager’s obligation to appoint the Company Doctor is extended to cases required by the risk assessment.
The employer who makes use of equipment requiring special knowledge must provide his own specific training to ensure that the equipment is used in a suitable and safe manner.
Obligations of the Company Doctor
The Company Doctor is obliged to request from the new hired worker the health record issued by the previous employer for the purpose of evaluate her/his suitability for work and, in the event of a serious impediment that temporarily prevents him from fulfilling his legal obligations, he must notify the employer in writing of the name of a replacement.
Strengthening of inspection activity
Provision is made for the sharing of information held by National Labor Inspectorate with the Tax Police, subject to the opinion of the Privacy Authority.
Unmanned work equipment
It is provided that anyone who rents or grants use of work equipment without an operator must certify its good state of conservation, maintenance and efficiency and acquire and keep on record, for the entire duration of the rental or use of the equipment, a self-certification of the entity who rents or uses, or of the employer, which certifies the specific training of the workers for its use.
Fixed-term contracts
The rules on the reasons to be given for using fixed-term contracts under Article 19, Legislative Decree 81/2015 have been reviewed.
In particular, without prejudice to the absence of the obligation to indicate the reasons for fixed-term contracts of a duration of less than 12 months, fixed-term contracts of a longer duration (in any case not exceeding 24 months) may be entered into only in the presence of one of the following reasons:
– (a) in the cases provided for in the collective labor agreements applied by the employer;
– b) lacking any ruling by the collective labor agreements applied by the employer, and in any case by 30 April 2024, for needs of a technical, organisational or productive nature identified by the parties;
– b-bis) for the replacement of other workers temporarily absent from work.
These reasons will also have to be referred to for extensions exceeding 12 months and for renewals.
Reduction of employers’ burdens under the Transparency Decree
It is provided that the employer may fulfil its information obligations with the indication of the regulatory reference or collective bargaining agreement, including company agreements in relation to the following specific information concerning the employment relationship: duration of the probationary period, training, duration of leave for holidays, notice periods, initial amount of salary, scheduling of normal working hours, bodies and institutions receiving social security and insurance contributions due by the employer.
The employer is also required to deliver or make available to employees, also by publication on the website, national, territorial and company collective agreements as well as company regulations applicable to the employment relationship.
The communication burden relating to automated decision-making and monitoring systems (Article 1-bis of Legislative Decree 152/1997) is reduced to those that are ‘fully automated’ used in the management of the employment relationship. This indication should make it possible to exclude from the disclosure obligation systems involving human intervention, in line with the definition contained in Article 22(1) of the GDPR. In relation to fully automated systems, therefore, the obligation to inform workers and trade unions includes the methods of processing (the purposes, the logic of the processing and the operation of the systems) and the information covered by the processing (the categories of data used, the control measures adopted, any correction processes, the person in charge of the system, the level of accuracy and IT security of the systems).
It is also specified that the information obligations in question do not apply to systems protected by industrial and commercial secrecy.
Hiring incentives (NEETs and persons with disabilities)
Hiring incentives (NEETs and persons with disabilities)
– Provision of incentives for new hires made from 1 June to 31 December 2023, of young people who are under 30 years of age, not working and not in education or training (‘NEET’), and who are registered in the National Youth Employment Initiative Operational Programme.
These requirements must be met in combination.
The incentive can be recognised for a period of 12 months, to the extent of 60% of the gross monthly salary taxable for social security purposes.
In case of combination with other incentives, the Neet incentive is recognised to the extent of 20% of the gross monthly salary taxable for social security purposes for each ‘Neet’ worker hired
– Provision of a special fund aimed at the recognition of a contribution in favour of the bodies of the Third Sector, voluntary organisations and associations for social promotion involved in the process of transmigration, non-profit organisations of social utility, for each person with disabilities, under 35 years of age, hired pursuant to Law No. 68 of 12 March 1999, with an open-ended employment contract between 1 August 2022 and 31 December 2023, for the performance of activities in compliance with the statute.
Fringe Benefit
The tax-exempt fringe benefit threshold for employees with children is extended to €3,000 for the 2023 tax year. Amounts paid or reimbursed for the payment of household utilities for the integrated water service, electricity and natural gas are also tax-free within the same limit.