Urgent Measures - Enactment of the Tax and Labor Decree

Subject: Urgent measures regarding employment and matters of pressing necessity; conversion of the Tax and Labor Decree into law

Tax and Labor Decree No. 146 of October 21, 2021, was converted, with amendments, into Law No. 215 of December 17, 2021, and published in Gazzetta on December 20, 2021.

Below are the most significant updates regarding labor matters.

One-time reimbursement of sick leave benefits fully covered by the employer

Within the spending limit of €188.30 million for the year 2021, private-sector employers subject to social security obligations under the INPS schemes—excluding domestic employers—are entitled to a lump-sum reimbursement for costs incurred in relation to their employees who are not eligible for INPS health insurance (for example: industrial sector employees). For sick leave periods from January 31, 2020, through December 31, 2021, employers must submit an electronic application to the Social Security Institute to obtain the reimbursement, paid by INPS, in the amount of €600.00 per employee. The application must be accompanied by a statement certifying the periods covered by sick leave benefits. We are awaiting instructions from the Institute regarding the procedures and deadlines for submitting applications. The reimbursement is granted to the employer as a one-time payment for each individual worker and is provided only in cases where work cannot be performed remotely during the sick leave period. INPS will verify the accuracy of the submitted declarations.

Parental leave

An employee who is the parent of a child under the age of 14 living in the same household may, in alternation with the other parent, take leave from work for a period corresponding in whole or in part to the duration of the suspension of in-person schooling or educational activities for the child, the duration of the child’s SARS-CoV-2 infection, or the duration of the child’s quarantine ordered by the competent local health authority following exposure, regardless of where it occurred.

The benefit is granted, regardless of the child’s age, to parents of children with disabilities that have been certified as severe pursuant to Article 3, paragraph 3, of Law No. 104/1992, in cases where the child has contracted SARS-CoV-2, or for the duration of the child’s quarantine, or in cases where in-person teaching or educational activities have been suspended, or where the child attends day care centers that have been ordered to close.

Parental leave may be taken on a daily or hourly basis; an allowance equal to 50% of the employee’s salary is paid in lieu of wages, calculated in accordance with the provisions of the Consolidated Law on Maternity and Paternity (Decree 151/2001), with the exception of paragraph 2 of Article 23 of the aforementioned Consolidated Law. The relevant periods are covered by imputed contributions. The INPS, in a circular dated December 21, 2021, announces that it is possible to submit the relevant electronic applications. For periods of parental leave taken by parents from the start of the 2021/2022 school year until the effective date of Decree (October 21, 2021), may be converted upon request into this leave (provided they were requested because the child was ill after contracting SARS-CoV-2, or due to the child’s quarantine, or due to the suspension of in-person educational activities, or due to the closure of daycare centers).

There is a spending limit in place, and INPS monitors compliance, reporting the results to the Ministry of Labor and Social Policies and the Ministry of Economy and Finance.

Additional provisions regarding wage supplementation

The law converting the Tax and Labor Decree has confirmed an additional thirteen weeks of Ordinary Unemployment Benefits and Exceptional Wage Supplementation, for the period from October 1, 2021, to December 31, 2021, without any additional contributions. Applications may be submitted by private-sector employers who suspend or reduce work activities due to events related to the COVID-19 pandemic, and may cover employees on the payroll as of October 21, 2021.

These benefits are available up to a spending limit of 657.9 million euros for the year 2021, divided between the two measures mentioned above. INPS will monitor the situation, and if it appears that the spending limit has been reached—even on a projected basis—it will not consider any further applications.

Employers referred to in Article 50-bis, paragraph 2, of Decree-Law No. 73 of May 25, 2021 (employers in the textile, clothing, leather goods, and related industries, identified, according to the ATECO 2007 classification of economic activities, by codes 13, 14, and 15), who suspend or reduce work activities due to events related to the COVID-19 epidemiological emergency may apply for ordinary wage supplementation (CIGO) for 9 weeks from October 1, 2021, to December 31, 2021. These benefits are also granted only within the spending limit of €140.5 million for the year 2021. INPS will monitor the situation, and if it anticipates that the spending limit will be exceeded, INPS will not consider any further applications.

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