Accounting Bolla
  • Corporate
    • Business Incorporation >
      • Registered Business and Corporate Secretarial
      • Offshore Solutions
      • Certificate of Good Standing
      • Internationalization
    • Corporate Tax Services
    • EU VAT
    • Escrow
    • Data Protection
    • Corporate Restructuring
    • Generational Handover
    • Trademark Registration
  • Advisory
    • Business Plan & Startup Service
    • Mergers & Acquisitions >
      • Investing in Europe & Globally
      • Business Valuation
    • Forensics Accounting >
      • Derivatives and Complex Financial Calculations
    • Risk Assessment & Risk Advisory
    • Expert Witness & Litigations Support
    • Web Analysis & Web Optimization
  • Outsource
    • Bookkeeping
    • Payroll
    • Managerial Accounting
    • Social-Environmental Performance
    • Integrated Reporting
  • Individuals
    • Self assessment
    • Personal Tax Planning
    • Property Tax and Estate Planning
    • Inheritance Estate and Taxes
    • Wealth Protection
    • Trustee Services
  • Expat Desk
    • New Residents Tax Regime
    • Immigration
    • Flat tax Italy
    • Airbnb
    • Retire to Italy
  • Blog
  • Contacts

Hiring Employees in Italy: the ultimate guide

10/4/2020

0 Comments

 

Hiring employees in Italy: tips and suggestion for companies

​When you are looking to hire employees for your company there are different regulations regarding the decision to hire a citizen of the European Union or one outside of the EU. Likewise, each kind of employee may be su​bject to different rules. Employment laws and legal provisions within both Italy and the EU are highly developed and strictly governed, especially regarding foreign workers.

Trade Unions and Employment Laws

Basic rules regarding rights and obligations of employment in Italy can be found in the Constitution, the Civil Code , which includes a special section on employment matters, and the Workers’ Statute (Law no. 300/1970).

For more informations, be sure to check also our article about contract work in Italy.
 

Terms and conditions of employment are fixed by National Collective Agreements (NCA, sometimes also referred to as Collective Bargaining Agreements or CBAs). They are periodically signed between the trade unions and the employers’ associations of those same industries. These collective bargaining contracts normally regulate the working conditions and establish the minimum wage and salary scales for each specific sector.
 
Unions, worker councils, and NCAs represent the majority of Italy’s workforce, depending on the type of job of course. Employers must follow their internal rules in addition to any Italian employment regulations regarding compliance, minimum wage, compensation, and any time off. If, by chance, your company does not belong to an NCA, then you are not subject to any specific NCA’s rules.
 
Drafting an employment contract is a legal requirement whenever you hire employees in Italy and contracts must be drafted in Italian. These employment agreements should spell out everything from compensation and working hours to benefits to termination terms. If you mention (and you should if there is one) an NCA in the employment contract, you are bound by all of its rules. Salary or bonus amounts in euros should also be stated clearly.
Hiring employees in Italy | Interviewer and candidate discussing

Hiring EU vs. Non-EU Citizens: differences according to law

There are no specific rules related to the employment of European Union citizens because they can move and work in every EU Country, free of restrictions (aside from declaring their residence). On the other hand, limitations are set down by Italian law with respect to non-EU citizens. Visas and different work permits are a necessity. For some categories, such as seasonal workers, there will also need to be a provision for housing. 
 
A non-EU citizen can only start after a specific immigration procedure is completed, which includes complying with the limitation of the annual quotas. These quotas are determined yearly by the government. After they are established, a non-EU citizen must request a work visa, assuming that they have been offered employment in Italy.

Non-EU citizens must first obtain the necessary documents from their new Italian employer that indicate the employee is entering the country for work reasons. Generally, the foreign worker will have to process their application at the Italian Consulate in their home country, that is, before coming to Italy. After reviewing those documents, the Italian Police Headquarters (Questura) may issue a work visa to non-EU employees. The employer must send all the administrative paperwork to the Immigration office before the employee enters the country to work. Entering before the process is completed can result in it being nullified.

Contracts: tips for signing & negotations

​Employment contracts are governed by the general rules set out in the Civil Code and the relevant NCA. The employment relationship is defined in the employment contract. The two main types of contract are fixed-term and part-time, but there are also contracts for apprenticeships, on-call jobs, those acquired through an agency, and seasonal jobs (usually for agricultural workers).
 
Part-time employment contracts must be written and specify the working hours (e.g., by day, week, month, and year). Pay and other entitlements of part-time employees are normally pro-rated to those applicable to full-timers in the same job i.e., part-time workers get all of the same benefits as full-time workers. Ancillary clauses can be added to part-time contracts, allowing employers greater flexibility:
 
●      Elastic clauses (clausole elastiche) permit an employer to increase working time as needed;
●      Flexible clauses (clausole flessibili) permit an employer to vary working hours during the day.
 
Under legislative decree No. 368/2001, a company can hire employees with a fixed-term contract for arrangements limited by time. Fixed-term contracts can last up to 36 months, including any extension. There are quantitative limits, usually set by the labour authorities (in the NCA), however the law states that the overall number of fixed-term contracts may not exceed 20% of the permanent workforce. Fixed-term contracts also cannot be used to replace workers on strike or to replace employees temporarily laid-off or involved in collective dismissals in the past few months.
 
Given the very large number of NCAs and their extensive use by the employers, employment agreements in Italy normally consist of simple hiring letters that refer to the items required by the law: identity of the parties, place of work, employment start date, trial period (if any), duration of the employment (in case of a fixed-term contract), employees’ duties, and the provisions contained in the applicable NCAs.
 
Individual employment contracts also specify the employee’s category as established by the Civil Code under article 2095. There are four categories of employees: executives (dirigenti), middle managers (quadri), white collar employees (impiegati), blue collar employees (operai).
 
Jobs are subject to a trial period or probationary period in which the contract can be terminated by either party without notice or obligation. Alternatively, an employee may be compensated in the event of a termination if not notice is given. The probation period and notice period are generally set in the relevant NCA for that employee’s category, as listed above.
 
Regarding health and safety, an employer's main obligations are to:
  1. Evaluate health and safety risks in the workplace.
  2. Identify the steps that must be taken to comply with safety requirements.
  3. Eliminate or reduce the risks to a minimum.
 
Once all of these things are carefully included in the contract you can safely hire employees from both within and outside of the EU.
Do you want to learn more the difference between your gross and net salary? Check out our video guide below.

Want to know more? Check also our article aboutworking time in Italy, immigration and Italian citizenship, starting a small business in Italy, and how to calculate Italian salaries.

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    RSS Feed

    Categories

    All
    Business And Companies' Establishment
    Economy In Italy
    Employees Management In Italy
    Financial Supports
    Fiscal Calendar
    Import Export
    Imposte Sul Reddito In Italia
    Income Tax
    Investing In Italy
    Invoices In Italy
    Pensions
    Real Estate Taxes
    Residency And Citizenship In Italy
    Salary
    Short Term Rental In Italy
    Sport
    Tasse
    Taxes
    Tax Return Italy
    Vat
    Visa
    Working In Italy

    Archives

    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    December 2019
    April 2019
    October 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017

    Author

    ​After moving back to Italy from the United States in 2013, I realized how much an accounting and tax firm was needed to help expats living in Italy to comply with the local tax regulations.

    My idea seeded when I had to go through the complicated Italian tax system myself, and that’s when I started Accounting Bolla. Its mission is very simple, yet utopian: to make Italian taxes easy and manageable.

    At Accounting Bolla we aim to help our clients with straightforward solutions.

    Since 2017 we can proudly claim to have helped thousands of clients in optimizing their taxes and in safely investing in Italy.

    We help EU based ecommerce business selling in Italy. If you are confused about Italian VAT we'll handle that.

​

Corporate

Business Incorporation
Corporate taxes
Registered business
Offshore solutions
​Internationalization
EU VAT
Certificate of Good standing
Escrow
Data protection
Corporate restructuring
Generational Handover
Trademark Registration

Individuals

Self Assessment
Personal Tax Planning
​​Property Tax
Inheritance Tax​
Wealth protection
Trustee Services

Expat Desk

New Residents regime
Flat tax
​Immigration and Citizenship
Airbnb
​Retire to Italy
Partita IVA setup

Advisory

Business Plan and Startup
​Mergers & Acquisition
Investing Globally
​Business valuation
Forensics Accounting
​Financial calculations
Risk assessment and advisory
​Expert witness litigation
Web performance optimization
Outsource
Bookkeeping
Payroll
​Managerial Accounting
Social and Environmental Performance
Integrated Reporting

ACCA Member

Foto

Dottore Commercialista

Foto

General Information

​Email us
​Privacy
Terms of Use
AccountingBolla
Piazza Gen. C.A. Dalla Chiesa n. 3
43121 Parma (PR)
VAT IT02783230341
© COPYRIGHT 2020. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

  • Corporate
    • Business Incorporation >
      • Registered Business and Corporate Secretarial
      • Offshore Solutions
      • Certificate of Good Standing
      • Internationalization
    • Corporate Tax Services
    • EU VAT
    • Escrow
    • Data Protection
    • Corporate Restructuring
    • Generational Handover
    • Trademark Registration
  • Advisory
    • Business Plan & Startup Service
    • Mergers & Acquisitions >
      • Investing in Europe & Globally
      • Business Valuation
    • Forensics Accounting >
      • Derivatives and Complex Financial Calculations
    • Risk Assessment & Risk Advisory
    • Expert Witness & Litigations Support
    • Web Analysis & Web Optimization
  • Outsource
    • Bookkeeping
    • Payroll
    • Managerial Accounting
    • Social-Environmental Performance
    • Integrated Reporting
  • Individuals
    • Self assessment
    • Personal Tax Planning
    • Property Tax and Estate Planning
    • Inheritance Estate and Taxes
    • Wealth Protection
    • Trustee Services
  • Expat Desk
    • New Residents Tax Regime
    • Immigration
    • Flat tax Italy
    • Airbnb
    • Retire to Italy
  • Blog
  • Contacts