This guide aims at providing you with an overview of the current state of posted workers in Italy. After a brief introduction about EU directives and their Italian transpositions, we will check preliminary obligations and immigration requirements, to then analyze working conditions in Italy, including social security, salary obligations and more.
Finally, a reminder about penalties in case of non compliance when planning to post workers to Italy.
Posting Workers to Italy: Directive 2018/957/EU and transposition into Italian law
Companies based in European Union Member States that intend to post its employees to Italy to provide a temporary service shall comply with several requirements and provisions. The Directives 96/71/EC, 2014/67/EU and 2018/957/EU set out the guidelines in this regard.
The Legislative Decree 15 September 2020, no. 122 has implemented the Directive 2018/957/EU. As already established by Decree no. 136/2016, the working and employment conditions of the host Member State also apply – if more favourable to the posted worker – to the employment relationship between the posted workers and the posting company.
Companies posting their workers to Italy must now align their employees’ salary to that of an Italian worker.
However, if until September 2020 it was enough to adjust the worker’s minimum wage to the national wage – if any- with the national transposition of Directive 2018/957 in Italy it will be necessary to fully adjust the posted worker’s pay to that of an Italian worker of the same category by applying the most representative collective agreement.
A&P experts are at your disposal to support your company and your employees in the management of your posting fulfilments to Italy.
Below, we provide a summary of the obligations provided by Italian and European Law on transnational posting to Italy.
Preliminary obligations for posting workers to Italy
The company that sends its employees to Italian territory must send a preliminary declaration of posting to the labour inspectorate. The declaration must be sent electronically via the Cliclavoro Website, at latest the day before the service provision begins. Every employee needs to be notified before entering Italy.
Companies must notify each employee they intend to post to Italy.
The posting declaration to Italy must include data about:
- start and end date of the posting;
- both the posting and the host company;
- number of posted workers;
- address of the workplace in Italy;
- type of activity that will take place in Italy;
- name of a domiciled representative;
- and more.
In fact, it is also compulsory to appoint a representative that is domiciled in Italian territory. This person will be responsible for liaising between the posting company and the labour inspectorate’s control officers (Ispettorato Nazionale del Lavoro).
Immigration requirements and work permit for contracting
Non-EU workers holding a valid work permit, issued by EU Member States, may be posted in Italy for a maximum of 90 days out of 180 for business activities, including: “economic-commercial reasons, contacts or negotiations, learning and testing the use of capital goods bought or sold in the context of a commercial contract“.
If the activities to be carried out in Italy are different from those listed above, a work permit must be applied for, e.g. an entry permit for subcontracting, if there is a subcontracting contract between the posting company where he is employed and the Italian client.
Working and salary conditions in Italy
A company sending its employees to Italy is subject to the legal and contractual provisions applicable to employees of companies in the same sector established in Italy. These provisions regard working time, compensatory rest, public holidays, working hours and night work, remuneration (including overtime bonuses), etc.
Is there a minimum national wage in Italy?
Italy does not have a statutory minimum national wage. For this reason, it is crucial for foreign employers to carefully analyses and identify the correct Italian collective bargaining agreement and the adequate level in which each posted worker will be classified.
Mandatory storage of documents regarding the posting to Italy
For the duration of the posting, it is mandatory to keep and make available at request of the labour authorities a copy of the following documents:
- Employment contracts or equivalent documents proving the establishment of the employment relationship;
- Payslips;
- Timesheets indicating the beginning, end and duration of daily working hours;
- Documents proving the payment of wages;
- A1 Certificates.
After the end of the posting to Italy, it is necessary to keep all the documentation concerning the assignment for a fixed period of not less than two years.
The domiciled representative in Italian territory must properly store and keep available to foreign labour authorities the documents. In case of a formal request by the competent authorities, translations in Italian language may be needed.
Social security in Italy
Pursuant to Regulation 883/2004, the posting company must apply to the competent social institution for the issue of a A1 Certificate for posted workers.
Italy has entered into bilateral social security conventions with several Extra-EU Countries. The Italian social security institute (INPS) provides for information about the individual agreements, their scope and requirements for aggregation and application procedures.
The Italian construction workers’ social security fund cassa edile
Posted workers in the construction sector have to be registered and pay contribution to the competent Cassa Edile, their social security fund, since their working condition has to be adapted to the relevant national collective agreement as a result of national (D.Lgs. 17/07/2016 n.136) and EU (Directive 2014/67) rules.
This does not apply to workers from countries that have entered a Convention with Italy on the issue (Germany, France, Austria, San Marino).
Temporary workers
Workers hired under employment agencies may be posted to Italy under certain conditions. Their main employer remains responsible for the economic and regulatory treatment and for the formal obligations that arise within posting of workers.
Penalties in case of non-fulfilment of Italian obligations when posting employees
According to art. 12 of the Legislative Decree 136/2016, a failure to send the preliminary declaration of posting is punishable by a fine from €180 to €600 per posted worker.
In the event of failure with the obligation to store any posting-related documentation, the posting company is punishable by an administrative fine from €600 to €3.600 per posted worker.
Failure to designate a representative domiciled in Italy for the purpose of sending and receiving acts and documents and liaising between the posting company and the labour inspectorate’s control officers (Ispettorato Nazionale del Lavoro) is fined a pecuniary administrative sanction from €2.400 to €7.200.
