New employment law in Italy: Key changes for companies and employees

Temporary agency agreements

Workers hired by the agency for an open-ended period of time, as well as seasonal workers, workers in start-up companies, workers replacing absent workers, or workers over 50, are confirmed to be excluded from the calculation of the quantitative limit on temporary agency work. The Employment Bill repeals the provision that stipulated, in the case of a contract between a temporary employment agency and a worker under an open-ended arrangement, the limits of the total duration of a fixed-term assignment with the same employer be equal to 24 months.

Seasonal work

By means of an authoritative interpretation, the Employment Bill also includes within the category of seasonal work such activities designed to cope with busy periods of work during certain times of the year, as well as technical-productive requirements or requirements linked to the seasonal cycles of production industries or markets of a business, in accordance with the provisions of collective labor agreements.

Unjustified absence

Among the new, main features introduced by the Law, one particularly awaited by employers is the termination of employment by reason of an unjustified absence of the employee. The new provision stipulates that the termination of employment due to an unjustified absence of the employee is attributable to the latter's intent (amounting to voluntary resignation), in cases where such absence lasts longer than the term provided for by the collective agreement applied to the employment relationship or, in the absence of contractual provision, a period exceeding 15 days. In such cases, the employer is required to notify the territorial headquarters of the National Labor Inspectorate. For such a resignation to be ineffective, employees will have to prove that they were unable to communicate the reasons for their absence due to a force majeure, or a fact attributable to the employer. 

Probationary period

In relation to probationary periods, and in line with the principle that the duration of a probationary period should be proportional to the duration of a fixed-term contract (as well as the tasks performed), the Employment Bill establishes a new criterion for calculating probationary periods applied to fixed-term contracts. The probationary period will now be equal to one day of actual performance for every 15 calendar days, starting from the date of commencement of such employment. In any event, the probationary period may not be less than two days or more than 15 days in the case of contracts of no more than six months and may not be less than two days or more than 30 days for contracts of more than six months and less than 12 months.

Smart-working

The employer is required to electronically notify the Ministry of Labor of smart-working arrangements and, within five days, any employees under smart-working arrangements, as well as the start and end dates of such arrangements and/or any relevant changes to them. 

Telematic conciliation procedure

Finally, the Law envisages the possibility of conducting labor conciliation proceedings (pursuant to art. 410, 411 and 412ter of Italian Civil Procedure Code) by means of audiovisual and telematic connections: a practice in any case already used at numerous settlement venues and labor courts. 

Conclusions

The approval of the Employment Bill thus represents the conclusion of a legislative process that introduces, or confirms, measures which aim to increase employment flexibility and simplify procedural requirements for both companies and workers. The Ministry of Labor and Social Policy has specified the numerous interconnections between the measures of the Law with the budget law 2025 or other legislation adopted during 2024.

The predictions seem less impactful than the expectations created during the drafting and approval process; however, it will be interesting to see the practical effect of the implementation of some measures, such as, in particular, the one related to resignation for prolonged absence from the workplace.