Basic Facts

It is the world’s ninth largest economy. Italy is a country in south central Europe, occupying a peninsula that is just deep into the Mediterranean Sea. Hosting some of the most varied and scenic landscapes on Earth, Italy is often described as a country shaped like a boot. Art, music, style, and iconic food are the most famous elements of Italian culture. Though not a state religion, Roman Catholicism is the most popular religion in Italy. The Constitution also states that “all citizens have equal dignity and are equal before the law without distinction of sex, race, language, and religion”.

 

*Please note that the official currency is the currency of remuneration when employed through WorkMotion in Italy.

Capital :
Rome
Currency :
Euro (€, EUR)
Languages spoken :
Italian
Population :
59.07 million (2021 est.)
Minimum wage 2023 :
Regulated by CBAs
Cost of Living index :
$$$$ (32 of 139 nations)
Payroll Frequency :
Monthly
VAT - standard rate :
22%
GDP - real growth rate :
6.6% (2021 est.)

Statutory Holidays

The national holidays mentioned below are valid for the year 2024.

There are approximately 11 public holidays in Italy. The major cities observe an additional regional holiday on the feast day of their patron saint. Sundays are also considered to be public holidays.

Date
Holiday Name
Extra Information
January 1
New Year's Day
January 6
Epiphany
March 31
Easter Sunday
Movable
April 1
Easter Monday
Movable
April 25
Liberation Day
May 1
Labor Day
June 2
Republic Day
August 15
Assumption of Mary
November 1
All Saints’ Day
December 8
Feast of the Immaculate Conception
December 25
Christmas Day
December 26
St Stephen’s Day (Giorno di Santo Stefano)

Contract Sharing Time


The approximate time for sharing the contract with an employee in Italy is 8 business days assuming no special requests or changes to our standard employment contract. Any such requests or changes would need to undergo internal and external review, directly leading to a time delay.

NOTE: This number is subject to change and is only an estimation of the Contract Sharing Time. The estimated Contract Sharing Time begins from the moment that WorkMotion has received all required information from both the client and the employee.

What You Need To Know


  • Employers with 15 or more employees are required to employ at least one person living with serious disabilities.

  • In Italy, employers are obliged to ensure that employees have access to medical examination of health (pre-hiring, preventive, periodic) and examination of sight

  • Employees in Italy are classified into four different groups; Executives (“Dirigente”), Middle managers (“Quadro”), White-collar employees (“Impiegati”), and Blue-collar employees (“Operai”). Collective bargaining agreements and corporate norms, in relation to the structure of the company, determine the requirements for belonging to the indicated categories.

  • Non-compliance by the employer with dismissal regulations results in huge compensation payments.

  • Non-compliance by the employer with dismissal regulations results in huge compensation payments.
  • Salary payments are made 13 times per year and under some collective agreements even 14 times per year.
  • In Italy, remote work is governed under agile working, also known as “smart working”. Among other things, the regulations say that the employer is responsible for the safety and proper functioning of the technological tools assigned to the worker for the performance of the work activity.

Labor Conditions


Working Hours

Working hours are generally 40 hours per week, not necessarily calculated on the basis of a set working week but for each seven-day period.

Employees are entitled to a daily rest period of at least 11 consecutive hours every 24 hours, which effectively restricts how many hours an employee can work in a day.

Overtime

Any work performed in excess of 40 hours per week constitutes overtime. Whether or not a contract has been signed, the number of overtime hours must not exceed eight hours weekly or 250 hours per year. The 48-hour limit is calculated over a seven-day period within a time period of no more than four months. Overtime is paid at a rate that is 15% more than actual full hourly pay.

Probation Period

The maximum term for probationary periods is six months. The actual length of time for the probation period is usually fixed by the Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBAs). 

Termination Notice Period

A written notice has to be served to the employee with detailed reasons for dismissal. The relevant notice period required to dismiss an employee for either a subjective or objective reason is set out in the applicable CBA, based on the employee’s length of service, position, and level.

Leave / Time Off

Annual Leave

Workers are entitled to annual paid leave of at least four 20 days plus four ex festivita. This minimum amount of leave cannot be replaced by compensation for leave not taken unless an employment relationship is being terminated. Collective bargaining agreements can establish longer annual leave on the basis of seniority. At least two weeks must be enjoyed in the year of accrual, even consecutively, if the worker so requests; and the other two within the 18 months following the end of the year of accrual.

Sick Leave

Statutory sick pay is a benefit that replaces pay, starting from the fourth day of absence from work. The first three days are ‘waiting days’ unless the illness is a relapse, and, if provided for by the employment contract, are paid in full by the employer. Statutory sick pay is paid for a maximum of 180 days per calendar year. Between the fourth and 20th day of illness, the statutory sick pay amount is, generally, equal to 50% of average daily pay, moving to 66.66% between the 21st and 180th day.

Parental Leave

During the first 12 years of the child’s life, parents are entitled to take a period of absence to take care of their children. Parental leave can be taken by the mother and by the father for a maximum period of six months. Alternatively, the leave can be taken by one parent only for a maximum period of 10 months. Single parent is entitled to 11 months of parental leave.

The indemnity granted to employees during parental leave is 30% of the base salary. It can be upto 80% where the following conditions are met:

  • For parental leave for a maximum period of one month taken only by the mother or, alternatively, by the father;
  • For parental leave taken until the child turns six years old.

For 2024, it is established that the allowance relating to the second month will also be recognized to the extent of 80% of the salary.

Child Disability Leave

The working mother or, alternatively, the father worker, including adoptive workers who take care of handicapped children, are entitled to the following leave provisions:

  • Two hours of paid daily leave up to three years of age of the child, compensated by INPS;
  • After the third year of age of the child, three days of leave every month, compensated by the INPS.

 

Leave to Attend to a Sick Child

Each parent has the right to up to five days of unpaid leave per year to take care of a sick child between three and eight years old, but they cannot both take this period of leave at the same time.

 

Maternity Leave

Female employees are entitled to five months of paid maternity leave. Two months of leave is generally taken prior to the expected date of childbirth and three months following the actual date of childbirth. Throughout the period of maternity or paternity leave, a daily allowance equivalent to 80% of the most recent salary is payable by the National Institute for Social Security (INPS), including any payment for sickness.

 

Paternity Leave

The employed father abstains from work for a period of 10 working days in the time span ranging from two months prior to the expected date of birth up to five months following birth. The leave can be used, within the same period of time, even in the event of the perinatal death of the child.

In the event of multiple births, the duration of the leave is increased to 20 working days.

The leave also applies to the adoptive or custodial father.

Other Types of Paid Leave

Bereavement and Compassionate Leave

All workers are entitled to paid leave of three working days per year in the event of serious illness or death of their spouse or second-degree relative or a partner.

 

Leave for Continuing Education

Employed workers have the right to continue the training courses for the whole span of life, to increase professional knowledge and skills. National and decentralized collective bargaining units define the number of hours to be allocated to the leave, the criteria for identifying workers, and the modality of timetable and remuneration connected to the participation in training courses.

Unpaid Leave

Leave for Serious Family Reasons

Continuous or discontinuous leave of up to two years may be granted for serious, documented family reasons. 

 

Leave for Training

Employees who have at least five years of service in the same company in administration may request a suspension of their relationship work for training leave for a period not exceeding 11 months, continuous or split, throughout their entire working life.

Statutory Benefits

The Italian social security system is funded by contributions paid by employed workers, employers, independent workers, self-employed workers, as well as through general taxation. 

Benefits

Employer Contribution

Employee Contribution

Monthly Salary Cap

Injuries at Work Insurance (INAIL)

0.28%

TFR (Trattamento di fine rapporto)

7.407% of the monthly salary

Social Security (Invalidity, Old Age, or Survivors)

31.58%

9.19%*

€8,545

Medical Check-Up

27 EUR

Private Health Insurance

10 EUR

2 EUR

For 2024, there is a total decontribution up to a maximum of €3,000 per year for working mothers with two children up to the month of the youngest child’s 10th birthday.

Health Insurance

In Italy, healthcare is guaranteed by the National Health Service (SSN) to all residents. The National Health Service (SSN) is funded by all residents of Italy through taxes (income tax, corporate tax, value-added tax), as well as through co-payment of the cost of medicines and health services through payment of what is referred to as the ‘ticket’, and managed by the individual regions through the Local Health Authority (LHA).

Other Insurances

Accident Insurance

The National Institute for Insurance against Accidents at Work (INAIL) manages the insurance system, funded through contributions paid by employers, which protects workers in case of:

  • Accidents
  • Death In The Workplace
  • Occupational Disease. 

The services provided in the event of an accident at work or occupational disease can be of two kinds:

  • In kind: health services, such as support, prosthetics, assistance, and rehabilitation;
  • Cash: compensation, either one-off payments or annuities.
Unemployment Insurance
  • NASpl: A cash benefit granted, on request, in the event of involuntary redundancy or expiry of a fixed-term employment contract, to employed workers, which includes apprentices, cooperative members, artistic staff, and fixed-term workers of public administrative bodies;
  • DIS-COLL: A cash benefit awarded on request in the event of involuntary redundancy to workers with an atypical employment contract registered with the separate pension scheme.

Public Pension

In Italy, pensions are operated by INPS and fed by salary-based contributions paid by both the employer and the employee towards social security. Workers are protected from the risk of loss of ability to work due to old age by the social security system contributions.

They are entitled to old-age benefits if:

  • They have accrued at least 20 years of contributions;
  • They have met the new minimum age requirements (adjusted over time based on life expectancy) which is 67 years for both men and women (till 2026);
  • They have stopped working.

Other Statutory Benefits

Trattamento di fine rapporto (TFR)

During employment, the employer pays 7.407% of the employee’s pay to the local authorities on a monthly basis. The money is paid out by the authorities to the employee upon termination as an “end of service allowance”. TFR is mandatory and is due in any case of termination of employment (including resignation, and dismissal for just cause or death).

 

Household Allowance

Also called Assegno per il Nucleo Familiare, it guarantees support for the families of employed workers and those retired from employed work, whose household is made up of multiple people and who have an income lower than that established annually by law. 

 

Voucher for future mothers

A one-off lump sum is granted to pregnant women having completed their seventh month of pregnancy and to adoptive and foster parents.

Disclaimer

The information contained in this Country Guide is provided for informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice on any subject matter. The contents of this Country Guide contain general information and may not reflect current legal developments or address your situation. You should not act or refrain from acting on the basis of any content included in this Country Guide without seeking the advice or representation of a licensed attorney. WorkMotion Software GmbH disclaims all liability for actions you take or fail to take based on any content included in this Country Guide.

Information provided in this Country Guide is provided “as is” without warranty of any kind, either express or implied, including without limitation warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, or non-infringement. WorkMotion Software GmbH periodically adds, changes, improves, updates, or removes information without notice, and assumes no liability or responsibility for any errors or omissions in the contents of this Country Guide. This Country Guide may contain links to other websites. WorkMotion Software GmbH disclaims all liability for the privacy practices or the content of such websites.