Renewal of the National Collective Bargaining Agreement for Tertiary, Distribution, and Service Companies - Confcommercio

News . 15/2024

On March 22, the trade unions Filcams-Cgil, Fisascat-Cisl, UilTuCS, and Confcommercio-Imprese per l'Italia signed a draft agreement for the renewal of the National Collective Bargaining Agreement for the Tertiary, Distribution, and Services Sector, which expired on December 31, 2019. Subsequently, on March 28, a Supplementary Agreement was signed between the same social partners in order to provide clarifications and details on the previous draft agreement.

The National Collective Labor Agreement is hereby renewed and will have a four-year duration, with validity (for the economic part) from April 1, 2023, until March 31, 2027.

As regards the regulatory aspects, however, the renewal will run from April 1, 2024, until March 31, 2027.

As regards the economic content of the agreement, a gross salary increase of €240 is envisaged for level IV (with relative re-parameterization on the other contractual levels), to be paid in six installments on the following dates:

• April 1, 2023 (this is the advance payment on future contractual increases agreed upon in the Extraordinary Protocol of December 12, 2022, which will be incorporated into the base salary starting April 1, 2024);

• April 1, 2024;

• March 1, 2025;

• November 1, 2025;

• November 1, 2026;

• February 1, 2027.

Substantial changes have been made to the regulatory part, redefining its scope of application and updating the classification of professional profiles in the sector in line with the new standards.

In fact, the areas of activity in both the trade and services sectors have been expanded. In particular, the organized distribution sector has been integrated with parapharmacy products and the inclusion of dark stores; while in the world of services, the rental and sale of audiovisual products and software and hardware as well as general administrative services at private online universities, tax assistance centers, and marketing .

In addition, improvements have been made to gender policies and additional leave is provided for women who are victims of violence. Specific reasons have been introduced for fixed-term employment contracts, to be used both for renewals (from the first renewal) and for extensions beyond 12 months and up to 24 months.

The Parties, recognizing the importance of agile working as an organizational method for reconciling work and personal life, as well as contributing to reducing environmental impact, with the Agreement of March 22, 2024, have implemented the National Protocol of December 7, 2021, on agile working.

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As regards the economic aspect, we summarize the increases in basic pay and their respective effective dates:

LEVEL	INCREASES STARTING FROM
	APRIL 1, 2023 (*)	APRIL 1, 2024	MARCH 1, 2025	November 1, 2025	November 1, 2026	February 1, 2027	TOTAL
Paintings	52,08	121,53	52,08	60,76	60,76	69,44	416,65
I	46,92	109,47	46,92	54,74	54,74	62,56	375,35
II	40,58	94,69	40,58	47,35	47,35	54,11	324,66
III	34,69	80,94	34,69	40,47	40,47	46,25	277,51
IV	30,00	70,00	30,00	35,00	35,00	40,00	240,00
V	27,10	63,24	27,10	31,62	31,62	36,14	216,82
VI	24,33	56,78	24,33	28,39	28,39	32,44	194,66
VII	20,83	48,61	20,83	24,31	24,31	27,78	166,67

              (*) This refers to the AFAC agreed upon in the Extraordinary Protocol of December 12, 2022.

SALES OPERATORS
CATEGORY	INCREASES STARTING FROM	TOTAL
APRIL 1, 2023	APRIL 1, 2024	MARCH 1, 2025	November 1, 2025	November 1, 2026	February 1, 2027
I	28,32	66,08	28,32	33,04	33,04	37,76	226,56
II	23,78	55,48	23,78	27,74	27,74	31,70	190,22

Below are the new base salaries and their respective frequencies, taking into account the increases in minimum wages:

LEVEL	MINIMUM WAGES – BASIC PAY STARTING FROM
APRIL 1, 2023 (*)	APRIL 1, 2024	MARCH 1, 2025	November 1, 2025	November 1, 2026	February 1, 2027
Paintings	1.948,72	2.070,25	2.122,33	2.183,09	2.243,85	2.313,29
I	1.755,41	1.864,88	1.911,80	1.966,55	2.021,28	2.083,84
II	1.518,42	1.613,11	1.653,69	1.701,04	1.748,39	1.802,50
III	1.297,84	1.378,78	1.413,47	1.453,94	1.494,41	1.540,66
IV	1.122,46	1.192,46	1.222,46	1.257,46	1.292,46	1.332,46
V	1.014,11	1.077,35	1.104,45	1.136,07	1.167,69	1.203,83
VI	910,44	967,22	991,55	1.019,94	1.048,33	1.080,77
VII	779,47	828,08	848,91	873,22	897,53	925,31

              (*) This refers to the AFAC agreed upon in the Extraordinary Protocol of December 12, 2022.

SALES OPERATORS
CATEGORY	MINIMUM WAGES – BASIC PAY STARTING FROM
APRIL 1, 2023	APRIL 1, 2024	MARCH 1, 2025	November 1, 2025	November 1, 2026	February 1, 2027
I	1.059,56	1.125,64	1.153,96	1.187,00	1.220,04	1.257,80
II	887,96	943,44	967,22	994,96	1.022,70	1.054,40

The following amounts are to be added to the above:

- The allowance for workers classified as MANAGERS, equal to €260.76 per month;

- The collective superminimum payable to workers classified at level VII, equal to €5.16 per month;

- The contingency allowance and the separate component of remuneration, deriving from the 1992 Interconfederal Agreement, as shown in the following table:

LEVEL	CONTINGENCY + EDR
Paintings	540,37
I	537,52
II	532,54
III	527,90
IV	524,22
V	521,94
VI	519,76
VII	517,51
OPV Cat. I	530,04
OPV II cat.	526,11

Absorptions 

The contract renewal agreement stipulates that:

They CANNOT be absorbed:

· Increases paid on merit, meaning those granted with reference to the aptitudes and performance of the worker;

· Increases resulting from seniority increments;

· Increases paid collectively and unilaterally by the employer during the six months immediately preceding the expiry of this contract (which expired on December 31, 2019).

They can be absorbed:

· Increases granted by companies independently of collective agreements negotiated with trade unions, which are expected to be absorbed by any trade union agreements;

and/or:

· Increases resulting from unilateral acts, provided that they are expressly established at the time of granting as a down payment or advance on future contractual increases, paid from January 1, 2022.

The supplementary agreement of March 28, 2024 confirmed that this last point should be interpreted as meaning that the advance on future contractual increases (AFAC) of €30 relating to level IV, as an increase in basic pay, and the one-off amounts one-off amounts of €350 relating to level IV provided for in the Extraordinary Protocol of December 12, 2022, cannot be absorbed by the salary increases paid from April 2024 to February 2027, nor by the one-off amount one-offamounts payable in July 2024 and July 2025, as provided for in the renewal agreement of March 22, 2024.

One-time payment

In order to fully cover the contractual gap period (January 1, 2020 – March 31, 2023), in addition to the provisions of the Extraordinary Protocol of December 12, 2022, the social partners have provided for the payment of a one-off amount.

The one-off payment is only available to workers employed on March 22, 2024, and is to be paid in two installments, according to the following schedule based on employment level:

ONE-TIME TABLE
LEVEL	ONE-OFF PAYMENT TO BE MADE ON 01/07/2024	ONE-TIME PAYMENT TO BE MADE ON 07/01/2025
Paintings	303,81	303,81
I	273,67	273,67
II	236,73	236,73
III	202,34	202,34
IV	175,00	175,00
V	158,11	158,11
VI	141,95	141,95
VII	121,53	121,53
Sales representatives
Category I	165,20	165,20
Category II	138,69	138,69

The amount can be divided into 15 monthly installments, determined in proportion to the duration of the employment relationship and the actual service provided in the period from January 1, 2022, to March 31, 2023.

We reiterate that the one-off payment will be made in two installments: one with the salaries for July 2024 and the other with the salaries for July 2025.

For apprentices employed as of March 22, 2024, the one-off payment will be paid in proportion to the remuneration referred to in the National Collective Bargaining Agreement of July 30, 2019, with the same effective dates of July 2024 and July 2025.

The Una Tantum must be proportionally reduced in the event of unpaid absences or leave of absence, and must be re-proportioned for periods of part-time work, for suspensions and/or reductions in working hours agreed with the trade unions, or in the event of hiring/termination, as well as in the case of part-time/full-time conversionsfull-time and vice versa, or changes in job classification during the reference period.

Furthermore, for the purposes of accruing one month's entitlement to the Una Tantum allowance, the calculation criterion now established in our National Collective Bargaining Agreement applies, which considers a fraction greater than or equal to 15 days as a full month.

The Una Tantum is not useful for calculating any contractual institution, and is not an amount useful for the purposes of severance pay.

According to established negotiating practice between the Parties, any amounts already paid by employers as future contractual increases and/or contractual improvements and paid from January 1, 2022, shall be considered for all intents and purposes as advances on the "one-off" amounts indicated in the Agreement. It is understood that the advance payment on future contractual increases established by the Extraordinary Protocol of December 12, 2022, is not considered as such, as it has now become a tranche contractual increase for all intents and purposes, as provided for in Article 213 of the National Collective Bargaining Agreement.

The supplementary agreement of March 28, 2024 confirmed that this last point should be interpreted as meaning that the advance on future contractual increases of €30 for level IV (and adjusted for other levels), as an increase in basic pay, and the one-off amounts one-off payments of €350 for level IV (and recalculated for the other levels), provided for in the Extraordinary Protocol of December 12, 2022, cannot be absorbed by the salary increases paid from April 2024 to February 2027, nor by the one-off amount of one-off, payable in July 2024 and July 2025, provided for in the renewal agreement of March 22, 2024.

*****

The Collective Agreement will expire on March 31, 2027, and if, six months after the contract expires, the parties have not reached a renewal agreement, employees must be paid a provisional salary component (known as the "Contractual Holiday Allowance") for 14 months, quantified as 30% of the forecast IPCA index for the current year (net of major energy costs), applied to the minimum contractual wages in force, including the former contingency allowance. The amount of the contractual holiday allowance may be absorbed, up to the maximum amount, exclusively by sums granted as a down payment or advance on future contractual increases subsequently March 31, 2027.

Funding for bilateral territorial entities

The contractual provision specified that the contribution to be paid to the bilateral territorial body by the company (amounting to 0.10% of basic pay + contingency) and the worker (amounting to 0.05% of basic pay + contingency) must be paid for 14 months and includes the contribution to support the activities of the Joint Bilateral Commissions.

Consequently, companies that fail to pay the aforementioned contribution are required to pay the worker the Distinct Element of Remuneration (E.D.R.), equal to 0.30% of the base salary + contingency, which is to be paid to the employee for 14 months.

EST Fund

An increase of €3.00 in the employer's contribution to the EST Fund has been established, effective from April 1, 2025.

Qu.A.S. health insurance fund

An increase of €40 in total has been established for the employer's contribution, of which €20 will take effect on January 1, 2025, and an additional €20 will take effect on January 1, 2026.

New Classification of Personnel

An important intervention involved a detailed review and update of the professional roles contained in the personnel classification.

In this regard, it should be noted that the declaration in the minutes under Articles 113 and 115 of this National Collective Bargaining Agreement stipulates that updates to the professional profiles included in the aforementioned articles apply to personnel hired from March 22, 2024 , while for positions already in place on that date, any adjustments must be made at company level.

For the sole purpose of hiring apprentices, the new classification system will come into force on June 1, 2024. Consequently, until that date and for the same purposes, the previous professional categories will remain in force.

The main changes concern the abolition of professional roles now considered obsolete and, at the same time, the introduction of new roles, including: "head of training processes and related supply chain," as well as "optometrist" and "parapharmacy pharmacist," together with the inclusion of more current roles such as "distance sales assistant" and "e-commerce assistant."e-commerce". (the latter at level V in the first 18 months after hiring).

Furthermore, with regard to the distribution of medicines, the Parties have undertaken to regulate, by the end of December 2025, the position of "order picker" in wholesale medicine warehouses with the aid of IT support, currently classified at level V.

Among the new roles, there was a reorganization of the classification system for employees of companies in the service sector, where examples were defined of professional roles operating in the macro-areas of advertising, marketing, and communication/events (Section A), market research (Section B), and auditing and business consulting (Section C), which are also considered benchmarks for all companies falling within the scope of the National Collective Bargaining Agreement. The entire Information and Communication Technology macro area has also been updated.

Furthermore, a special technical commission has been set up which, within the term of the contract, has the task of defining additional roles operating in the sector, including creative and cultural enterprises.

Introduction to reasons for fixed-term contracts

The Parties have defined the grounds for the legitimate application of a fixed term to individual employment contracts lasting more than 12 months, but not exceeding 24 months, or in cases of contract renewal (grounds to be included from the first renewal).

Please note that, as a result of current provisions, from the effective date of this National Collective Bargaining Agreement (April 1, 2024) it will no longer be possible to apply reasons at an individual level for technical, organizational, or production requirements, as provided for until December 31, 2024, by Article 19, paragraph 1, letter b) of Legislative Decree No. 81/2015, as these will be replaced by collective reasons.

The reasons introduced in this contract renewal are listed here:

1)    Sales. This category includes workers hired during periods affected by end-of-season sales, both winter and summer, as specified by regional regulations;

2)    Trade fairs. This category includes workers hired during the periods covered by trade fairs identified in the national and international trade fair calendar, including the seven days preceding and seven days following the fair;

3)    Christmas holidays. This category includes workers hired during the Christmas holidays, more specifically between November 15 and January 15.

4)   Easter holidays. This category includes workers hired during the Easter holidays, more specifically in the period between fifteen days before and fifteen days after Easter Sunday;

5)    Reducing environmental impact. This category includes workers hired with specific professional skills and employed directly in organizational and/or production processes that aim to reduce the environmental impact of those processes.

6)   Advanced tertiary sector. This category includes workers hired for

specific tasks involving the design, creation, support, and sale of innovative products, including digital products, in the advanced tertiary sector. This includes all activities related to all stages of development—even just one of them—of an innovative product, such as high-tech products, new materials, or services that help improve performance and make processes more efficient;

7)    Digitization. This category includes workers hired with specific professional skills for the development of methodologies and new skills in the digital field;

8)   New openings. This category includes workers hired for the opening of new production/operating units and restructuring within a maximum period of 24 months from the date of the new opening of the production/operating unit or within a maximum period of 24 months during the restructuring of production/operating units, understood as the expansion of the sales area or the opening of new departments. It should be noted that this category also includes restructuring processes - in addition to new openings of production and operational units - meaning, by way of example, the diversification or expansion of the services offered by a company.

With regard to new openings, the Parties have also agreed to exclude such employment relationships from the quota limits – as provided for in Article 23, paragraph 2, of Legislative Decree No. 81/2015 – only for employment relationships established within the first 12 months of the new opening. Furthermore, it should be noted that this regulation does not include the start-up/commencement of new activities, which are already governed by Article 76 of the National Collective Bargaining Agreement.

9)   Temporary increase. This category includes workers hired for temporary projects or assignments lasting more than 12 months or extended beyond 12 consecutive months, for a maximum duration of 24 months.

The above reasons may be legitimately applied to contracts with a duration of more than 12 months and not exceeding 24 months for extensions or renewals of contracts beyond 12 months or for the renewal of a contract (regardless of duration) and must be detailed to justify the reasons in relation to the duration, beyond the mere "title," to avoid the risk of litigation.

It is important to emphasize that these reasons can be used by all companies applying this National Collective Bargaining Agreement, without any distinction between production sectors.

In addition to these, second-level bargaining, at regional and/or company level, may identify further reasons. Such bargaining may also: agree on paths to stabilize fixed-term contracts; verify that job opportunities in the cases provided for in this article may also be aimed at increasing the hours of part-time workers in production units; identify events/fairs/exhibitions relevant to the territorial context that justify the hiring of workers during the periods affected by the events/fairs/exhibitions, including seven days before and seven days after the event/fair/exhibition. This reason may be legitimately applied to contracts lasting more than 12 months and not exceeding 24 months for extensions or renewals of contracts beyond 12 months or for the renewal of a contract (regardless of duration).

Parental Leave

With regard to parental leave, the Agreement reflects the provisions of Legislative Decree No. 105/2022 "Implementation of Directive (EU) 2019/1158 of the European Parliament and of the Council of June 20, 2019, on work-life balance for parents and carers and repealing Council Directive 2010/18/EU," incorporating the recent regulatory changes of Article 34 of Legislative Decree No. 151/2001 on parental leave and thus adjusting the contractual provisions both in relation to the duration of the leave and the amount of the allowance due.

The same contractual provision also introduced an additional specification regarding the impact of individual institutions during parental leave. In particular, it stipulated that periods of parental leave are counted as seniority and do not entail a reduction in vacation time, rest periods (ROL or former holidays), or additional monthly payments, with the exception of ancillary emoluments linked to actual presence at work.

Finally, the notice period within which the employee is required to notify the employer of their request for parental leave has been reduced to 5 days (previously it was 15 days).

Leave for women who are victims of violence

According to Article 24 of Legislative Decree No. 80 of June 15, 2015, female workers who are part of protection programs relating to gender-based violence, duly certified by the social services of their municipality of residence, anti-violence centers, or shelters, have the right to abstain from work for a maximum period of 90 working days.

In order to exercise this right, the employee, except in cases of objective impossibility, is required to give the employer at least seven days' notice and to provide certification attesting to her enrollment in the courses in question.

During the period of leave, the worker is entitled to an allowance corresponding to her last salary, which is paid in advance by the employer and offset against the contributions due to INPS (the Italian social security agency) in the same way as for maternity benefits.

Leave can be taken on an hourly or daily basis over a period of three years. The employee can choose between daily and hourly leave, provided that hourly leave is limited to half of the average daily working hours in the month immediately preceding the month in which the leave begins.

Flexible clauses in part-time employment relationships

With regard to part-time contracts, it has been established that, as of January 1, 2025, the allowance to be paid to workers for the inclusion of a flexible clause in their individual employment contracts will increase from €120 to €155. 155 euros per year, payable in monthly installments.

For all the latest news, please refer to the National Collective Labor Agreement, which can be viewed in the attachments below:

News :

News - Renewal of the National Collective Bargaining Agreement for Distribution and Service Companies_C.

Download • 475KB

Confcommercio Draft agreement 03/22/2024:

Confcommercio Draft agreement 22.03.2024.pdf

Download PDF • 5.27MB

APPENDIX 2 Supplementary Protocol to the National Collective Labor Agreement for Temporary Workers, March 28, 2024:

ALL_2_Supplementary_Minutes_CCNL_TDS_March_28,_2024.pdf

Download PDF • 1.67MB

Confcommercio operational clarifications Renewal of the National Collective Labor Agreement:

Confcommercio—operational clarifications—Renewal of the National Collective Bargaining Agreement and Supplementary Agreement of March 28, 20.

Download • 294KB