Insights

The circular of the Ministry of Labour No. 32/2012 and the Ministerial Decree dated December 20, 2012 clarified, in the light of the so called Fornero Reform (Law No. 92/2012), the several conditions to be respected for VAT collaborations: (i) specifying, in particular, the method for calculating the temporal condition of eight months in order to consider the VAT collaborations as free-lance collaborations on project basis and (ii) explaining that the new rules contained in Law No. 92/2012 have not to be applied to most of the companies and to professional firms and that the first inspections may be executed no earlier than July 18, 2014.

The Constitutional Court, with decision No. 287/2012, has decided that the reform of training provided for by Article 11 of Legislative Decree No. 138/2011 (converted into Law No. 148/2011) is unconstitutional because it invades the competences reserved exclusively to the legislative power of the Regions.

The unemployment indemnity is retrospective for the employees terminated for objective justified reasons who reached a mutual termination agreement through the settlement procedure after last July 18.

The Ministry of Labour, with memorandum No. 29/2012, has identified a black list for the free-lance relationship on project basis, indicating - by way of example and not limitation, according to the existing case law guidelines - a series of duties which, for their peculiarity, could never be executed with collaboration contract.

Law no. 9/2012 (so called “Fornero Law”) extends to father employees, from January 1, 2013, one day leave compulsory (more two days as optional) for the birth of the son/daughter which can be enjoyed within the first five months of the latter.

The Court of Cassation, with sentence No. 21028/2012, has stated that the employee who was not able to enjoy the holidays due to a long illness is entitled to their monetization even if the national collective agreement refers only to the enjoyment of the holidays and not to the indemnity in lieu (the latter, in fact, is an inalienable right guaranteed by the Constitution).

The Ministry of Labour, with note No. 12886/2012, has specified that the dismissal of an employee due to the exceeding of the grace period for sickness is excluded from the conciliation attempt since it is not a hypothesis of the new case of dismissal for just cause introduced by Law No. 92/2012.

On December 20, 2012 INAIL will publish the announcement concerning INAIL incentives for safety. The 2012 announcement allocates EUR 225 million, 78 of which to be transferred to the regions of Veneto, Lombardia and Emilia Romagna for seismic events, and others EUR 9 million for the financing of organizational models.