European Restructuring Monitor (ERM)
Eurofound's ERM database on restructuring-related legal regulations provides information on regulations in the Member States of the European Union and Norway which are explicitly or implicitly linked to anticipating and managing change.
Legislative Decree n. 22/2015, article 8; Legislative Decree n. 148/2015; Legislative Decree n. 150/2015; Decree law n. 109/2018, article 44; Decree law n. 4/2019 articles 1-13; Law Decree No. 73 of 25 May 2021; Law No. 178 of 30 December 2020, Law no. 234 of 30 December 2021, Law no. 234 of 30 December 2021
In Italy, there are different forms of intervention to support workers involved in corporate reorganisation processes.
Some of these interventions relate to the protection of income and can be referred to with the broad label of 'social shock absorbers'. Some of them protect workers' income within a still existing employment relationship and aim at guaranteeing income in the event of a temporary suspension of work. These are:
Wage Guarantee Funds were largely reformed by legislative decree 148/2015, one of the decrees implementing the so-called Jobs Act which has, among other things, eliminated the possibility of using the CIGS in cases of cessation of the company's production activity or of a branch of it, then reintroduced in 2018 by Decree law 109/2018.
The 2022 Budget Law (Law no. 234 of 30 December 2021) has introduced various changes in terms of wage integration treatments:
A second programme of interventions, which can be defined as protection within the labour market, is aimed at guaranteeing income in the event of unemployment. These instruments are:
As part of the reforms implemented by the Jobs Act and the reorganisation of the social shock absorber instruments, the legislator has strongly emphasised the so-called active labour market policies, i.e. all those measures aimed at fostering the reintegration of the unemployed into the labour market, also by introducing a series of conditionality mechanisms aimed at subordinating the recognition and maintenance of subsidies to a specific active behaviour of the worker. For example, the new system establishes that the unemployed worker agrees with the public employment centres a series of commitments aimed at strengthening his/her professional skills and facilitating the search for a new job. In the event that the beneficiary does not comply with these commitments, the benefit is reduced or even suspended.
Legislative Decree n. 150/2015 reformed the overall organisation of public labour services and active labour market policies, setting up the National Agency for Active Labour Market Policies (ANPAL) and a national network of employment services in order to facilitate faster reintegration of inactive subjects in the labour market. The national network of employment services includes:
Legislative Decree n. 150/2015 rationalised the organisation of active labour market policies both at regional and central level, identifying exactly the tasks assigned to the state and those of regional competence.
It is up to the Ministry of Labour and Social Policies to determine the three-year guidelines and the annual objectives of action in the field of active labour market policies and to set the essential levels of the services which must then be implemented in practice at the regional level. Regions provide the services related to active labour market policies through the public employment centres or through specific private accredited subjects.
Among the main active policy tools is the outplacement cheque. This tool is governed by article 23 of Legislative Decree no. 150/2015, which sets forth that the beneficiary can turn to an accredited employment service and complete the procedure aimed at defining his/her employability profile. Based on such profile, the unemployed person who has already benefited from the New Social Insurance Provision for Employment (Nuova prestazione di Assicurazione Sociale per l’Impiego, NASPI) and who is still unemployed after four months is given an ‘outplacement voucher’. The worker can choose whether to turn to a public employment agency or to an accredited private one, which will receive the voucher amount only upon the successful completion of the outplacement procedure. In case the unemployed person is hired under a fixed-term contract with a duration longer than six months, the voucher amount is halved.
In addition, employees who are at risk of unemployment, those who are covered by the Extraordinary Wage Guarantee Fund (Cassa integrazione guadagni straordinaria, CIGS), and those who are working under solidarity contracts are entitled to the above-mentioned active policy tools (such as orientation interviews and the organisation of a training action).
Since active labour market policies fall under the competence of the regions, similar outplacement voucher schemes have been already introduced in some areas of the country.
Finally, workers receiving unemployment benefits might opt for the payment of a lump sum instead of the monthly allowance if they want to start up a new business or cooperative.
The primary aim of the last labour market reform was to create a link and an adequate balancing between active and passive labour policies.
Nonetheless, some criticism has been raised as regards the outplacement voucher which is still in its testing phase, involving a very low share of the potential claimants.
Moreover, following the abolition of the mobility allowance (a specific unemployment benefits applicable in case of collective dismissals) as of 1 January 2017, workers dismissed pursuant to a collective dismissal procedure are likely to have weaker social protection than in the past.
In fact, the newly introduced unemployment benefit, applicable to all employees losing their job, the New Social Insurance Provision for Employment (NASpI), ensures a lower amount and duration: prior to the approval of Law no. 92/2012, the mobility allowance had a maximum duration of 36 months (or 48 months for employees working in southern Italy), as against the 24-month maximum NASpI period.
At the same time, the Jobs Act significantly reduced protection against dismissals for workers hired from March 2015 onwards, who are more exposed to this risk than in the past. Specifically, the reform narrowed the field of application of the reinstatement rule in case of unfair dismissal, generally replaced by a seniority based financial compensation.
Eurofound (2015), Italy: Redundant employees entitlement to public support, Restructuring legislation database, Dublin, https://apps.eurofound.europa.eu/legislationdb/redundant-employees-entitlement-to-public-support/italy
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