Ministerial Clarifications on the Provisions of the “Collegato Lavoro” Law

News . 12/2025

We are writing to draw your attention to News recent News issued News the Ministry of Labor, News provides guidance on the main measures implemented by the legislature through Law No. 203 of December 13, 2024 (the so-called “Labor Annex”).

In particular, the document focuses on recent developments regarding constructive dismissal, temporary employment, seasonal work, probationary periods, and communications regarding remote work.

Regulations Governing Termination of Employment

Article 19 of Law No. 203 of December 13, 2024, amended Article 26 of Legislative Decree No. 151/2015 by introducing paragraph 7-bis, which provides that an employer may, in the event of an employee’s unjustified absence lasting beyond the time limit set forth in the company’s applicable National Collective Bargaining Agreement (CCNL) or, in the absence of a contractual provision, where the absence exceeds fifteen days, to initiate the procedure known as “resignation by implication,” by means of a notification to be submitted to the competent local National Labor Inspectorate. We have attached a sample notice. The notice must be sent both to the Inspectorate and to the employee, in order to allow the latter to exercise the right to a defense provided for in Article 24 of the Constitution.

In this regard, it is specified, however, that following an inspection, the employer may be held liable—including criminally—for providing false information to the local labor inspectorate.

It is important to note that several collective bargaining agreements provide for disciplinary consequences in the event of prolonged unexcused absence, allowing the employer to proceed with termination for just cause or for justified subjective grounds. In such cases, the safeguard procedure provided for in Article 7 of the Workers’ Statute (Law No. 330/70) is therefore triggered. Therefore, if the contractual provision regarding unjustified absence requires a prior disciplinary hearing, the procedure set forth in the National Collective Bargaining Agreement must be followed, rather than proceeding under the “resignation due to conclusive facts” provision.

The News also provides further clarification regarding the electronic termination procedure initiated by the employer following “resignation by conduct,” establishing that such a procedure is rendered ineffective if the employee has previously submitted an electronic resignation.

Therefore, to initiate the “constructive resignation” procedure, the employer must first verify whether the company’s applicable National Collective Bargaining Agreement (CCNL) contains provisions regarding an employee’s unexcused absences, and if so, what those provisions are. Thereafter, following a minimum absence period of 15 days, or the greater number of days of absence provided for by the applicable company-level collective bargaining agreement, the employer will submit the request via certified email (PEC) to the competent local labor inspectorate, which will conduct all necessary verifications; the employer will also send a copy to the employee to inform them of the initiated procedure. The termination of employment will take effect as of the date indicated on the UNILAV form (which will be sent within 5 days of the Inspectorate’s confirmation of receipt of the notice), provided that the employer is not required to pay wages or related contributions for the period of unjustified absence.

However, if the employee can demonstrate that he or she was unable to provide notice of the reasons for the absence (for example, due to hospitalization or force majeure), the termination of the employment relationship will be deemed invalid. The same applies if the Labor Inspectorate determines that the employer’s notice was false.

The provisions in question do not apply in cases of termination by mutual agreement or resignation submitted by the employee during pregnancy, or by either the employee or the employer during the first three years of the child’s life, or in other specific cases as further outlined in Article 55 of Legislative Decree No. 151/2001.

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