References
Civil Code, Book 5, 1942, as amended up to 2009<br/>(Codice Civile - available only in Italian)
Date:
21 Aug 1970;
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(view in NATLEX
»)
Act No. 300 of 20 May 1970 on Workers' Protection, also known as the Workers' Statute, as last amended by Decree Law No. 196 of 2003 <br/>(Statuto dei Lavoratori - available only in Italian)
Date:
20 Aug 1970;
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Act No. 604 of 15 July 1966 on Individual Dismissals, as amended by Act 108 of 1990<br/>(Norme sui licenziamenti individuali - only in Italian)
Date:
19 Aug 1970;
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Act No. 108 of 1990 on Individual Dismissals<br/>(Disciplina dei licenziamenti individuali - only in Italian)
Date:
19 Aug 1970;
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Act No. 223 of 1991 (regulates collective dismissals)<br/>(Norme in materia di cassa integrazione, mobilità, trattamenti di disoccupazione, attuazione di direttive della Comunità europea, avviamento al lavoro ed altre disposizioni in materia di mercato del lavoro - available only in Italian)
Date:
19 Aug 1970;
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Legislative Decree No. 368 of 2001 on fixed-term work<br/>(Decreto legislativo attuazione della direttiva 1999/70/CE relativa all'accordo quadro sul lavoro a tempo determinato concluso dal'UNICE, DAL CEEP e dal CES - available in Italian only)
Date:
20 Aug 1970;
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Scope
Size of enterprises excluded (≤): 15
The Worker's Statute excludes enterprises with less than 15 employees (or less than 5 in the agricultural sector) from specific aspects related to dismissals and worker's representatives (see: art. 35). This exclusion entails consequences on the available remedies for unfair dismissal.
In addition, the Act No. 223 on collective dismissal is only applicable to undertakings employing more than 15 workers (art.1).
Workers' categories excluded: journalists, civil/public servants, domestic workers, police, army, judiciary, managerial / executive positions, athletes
- Domestic servants are excluded from the general rules on individual dismissals. However, they are covered by the rules on discriminatory dismissal and by a national collective agreement adopted in 2007 that provides for rules on notice periods and end of service compensation (TFR).
- In general, public servants are covered by ordinary legislation governing employees but specific exceptions may apply. For some categories of public servants (e.g. magistrates, university teachers, top civil servants) and members of the armed forces and police, there are specific rules (public servant's regime, 'regime regime pubblicistico'").
- Executives (dirigenti) are the top managerial employees: they are generally governed by the same rules of ordinary employees but major exceptions apply (e.g. dismissal, working time). "Managers and directors are not covered by the legislation as employees and therefore do not have the same status, nor the same protection against dismissal." (EU Commission study on Termination of Employment)
Valid reasons for FTC use: objective and material reasons
Art. 1.1 of the Decree 368/2001 lists the grounds based on which the fixed term contract (when concluded with justification) can be concluded: reasons of technical nature, reasons of production, organization and in the in case of substitution of temporary absent employee.
Art. 10 Leg. Decree 368/2001 provides for specific exceptions:
(in particular to the tourism sector, agricultural sector, contracts concluded with executives (dirigenti): see. Art. 10 on the scope of application).
Maximum number of successive FTCs: no limitation
Renewal is allowed once only for fixed-term contracts with an initial duration of less than 3 years: art. 4 Leg. Decree 368/2001.
Renewal is not possible for longer FTC.
Maximum cumulative duration of successive FTCs: 36month(s)
Art. 4 Leg. Decree 368/2001
However, further renewal is possible if authorized by the Direzione Provinciale del Lavoro (art 4 bis of Leg. Decree 368/2001 as inserted by sec. 40, Act 247/2007).
Note: This limitation only applies to successive FTC. In the case of a single FTC, no maximum duration is fixed by the law.
% of workforce under FTC: 13.4
Source: Eurostat, 2009 (annual average).
The figure refers to the percentage of employees of a total number of employee with a contract of limited duration (= temporary job).
Eurostat data are based on the following definition:
"A job may be considered temporary if employer and employee agree that its end is determined by objective conditions such as a specific date, the completion of a task or the return of another employee who has been temporarily replaced (usually stated in a work contract of limited duration). Typical cases are: (a) persons with seasonal employment; (b) persons engaged by an agency or employment exchange and hired to a third party to perform a specific task (unless there is a written work contract of unlimited duration); (c) persons with specific training contracts."
Maximum probationary (trial) period (in months): 6 month(s)
Probationary period is governed by collective agreement. However there is a statutory limit of 6 months: art. 10 Act 604/1966.
Obligation to provide reasons to the employee: Yes
Valid grounds (justified dismissal):
Prohibited grounds: marital status, pregnancy, maternity leave, family responsibilities, race, sex, sexual orientation, religion, political opinion, age, trade union membership and activities, disability, parental leave, participation in a lawful strike, adoption leave
Art. 15 and Art. 18 Act 300/1970, as amended by Law 92/2012 .
Art. 3 Act 604/1966
Art. 35 Legislative Decree 198/2006
Art. 54 Legislative Decree 151/2001
Art. 18 (1) Act 53/2000.
Workers enjoying special protection: workers' representatives, pregnant women and/or women on maternity leave, workers with family responsibilities
- Worker's representatives: there is a protection in art. 28 Act 300/1970 (workers' statute) which provides for specific simplified procedure for reinstatement following unfair dismissal. Specific remedies are also provided under Art. 18 Act 300/1970
- Pregnant women, women on maternity leave, women with family responsibilities: see Legislative Decree 151 of 2001 on the protection of maternity and paternity. According to art. 54, dismissal is prohibited form the beginning of the pregnancy and up to a maximum of one year after the birth of the child.
This prohibition does not however prevent an employer for dismissing a female employee in the event of serious misconduct (just cause) or in case of cessation of the activities of the employer.
- Workers on paternity leave equally benefit from the protection against dismissal. (note however that under Italian law, a worker is entitled to paternity leave in limited situations: death of the mother, serious disability or abandonment by the mother or exclusive custody of the child to the father).
- The prohibition of dismissal has also been extended to cover adoption leave (up until one year after the child has entered the family).
Notification to the worker to be dismissed: written
Art. 2 Act 604/1966
Notice period:
The length of the notice period is governed by collective agreements according to the employee's length of service and category.
See also art. 2118 CC.
Pay in lieu of notice: Yes
Art. 2118 Civil Code
Notification to the public administration: No
Notification to workers' representatives: No
Approval by public administration or judicial bodies: No
Approval by workers' representatives: No
Definition of collective dismissal (number of employees concerned) Over a period of 120 days, in undertakings with 15 or more employees, concerning at least 5 employees in a single unit of production or at least 5 employees in several units belonging to a single employer within one province.<br/>
Art. 24, Act 223/1991
Notification to the public administration Yes
Art. 4 read together with art. 24 Act 223/1991.
Notification to trade union (workers' representatives) Yes
Art. 4 read together with art. 24 Act 223/1991.
Notification to workers' representatives: Yes
Art. 4 read together with art. 24 Act 223/1991.
Approval by trade union (workers' representatives) No
Approval by workers' representatives No
Priority rules for collective dismissals (social considerations, age, job tenure) Yes
Art. 5 (1) read together with art. 24 Act 223/1991 : Mandatory list of 3 criteria to be considered unless provided otherwise in collective agreement: 1) family responsibilities, 2) job tenure, 3) technical, production-related and organizational requirements. But no specified priority between those criteria.
Employer's obligation to consider alternatives to dismissal (transfers, retraining...) Yes
Art. 8 Act 223/1991 referring to art 15 u00a7 6 Act 264/1949.
Preferential rehiring during six months. Before 2002 this period was one year.
Priority rules for re-employment Yes
Art. 4(4): refers to alternatives to redundancy and measures to mitigate the social effects of redundancy as part of the elements to be communicated to the trade union representatives for the purpose of consultation.
Art. 4 (5) as modified by art. 1 Act (D. Leg.) 151/1997, read together with art. 24 Act 223/1991 : mandatory examination of the possibility to adopt social measures (i.e retraining).
However, no formal adoption of a social plan is required.
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mine workers: No
Compensation for unfair dismissal - Legal limits (ceiling in months or calculation method): 1) For employers with more than 15 employees (or five in the agricultural sector) in one production unit, or more than one in the same municipality, and employers employing more than 60 workers wherever located. In case of unfair dismissal (lack of justification, discriminatory, irregular procedures): <br/>* Mandatory reinstatement of the dismissed employee and payment of damages for the period between dismissal and the reinstatement but not less than five months' pay. <br/>* Alternatively, when reinstatement is refused by the employee: payment of damages amounting to 15 months' pay.<br/><br/>2) For establishments with up to 15 employees (or 5 in the agricultural sector):<br/> * Reinstatement or if refused by the employer, compensation ranging from 2,5 to six months' pay (depending on job tenure and firm size), up to 10 months pay for more than 10 years of service, and up to 14 months for more than 20 years of service. However, when the dismissal is held to be discriminatory or however based on prohibited grounds or retaliatory or in any other case in which the law provides the dismissal to be held null and void mandatory reinstatement of the dismissed employee and payment of damages for the period between the dismissal and the reinstatement but not less than five months' pay would apply.
First category, see: art. 18 Act 300/1970 (workers' statute).
Second category, see: art. 8 Act 604/1966.
managerial / executive positions: Yes
Depending on the number of employees as previously mentioned reinstatement can be either mandatory or optional: art. 18 Act 300/1970 Act (workers' statute) and art. 8 Act 604/1966.
police: Yes
Art. 5 Act 108/1990 (applicable only to dismissals within establishments with up to 15 employees).
(Note: when this article is not applicable, conciliation is optional according to art. 410 Civil Procedure Code).
Art. 413 Civil Procedure Code.
The labour court "giudice del lavoro" is integrated into the organization of the general civil court system, but follow special procedures.
Existing arbitration: Yes
Art. 412-ter Civil Procedure Code: arbitration must be foreseen by a collective agreement.
Length of procedure: 23month(s)
As of 2004, for first instance cases
(26 months for appeal cases)
Source: http://www.corteappellocatania.it/formazione/051007/durata.pdf, p. 3
citing the 2006 report of the European Commission for the Efficiency of Justice : http://www.coe.int/t/dghl/cooperation/cepej/default_en.asp)