Thanks to the passage of the Dignity Decree by the Italian Parliament last summer and the recent decision of Italy’s Constitutional Court, the employment law regime in Italy has changed direction. The problem is that the direction it has taken is uncertain, creating concern both for employers and employees. The current situation is that parts … Continue reading
The need to update existing labour laws in light of the rapid changes introduced by the digital economy is one of principal issues under the “new ways of working” debate and has made the headlines in many Italian papers, including the leading daily, Il Sole24Ore. We need to use the legal tools that are available … Continue reading
On 31 May 2018, at the City Hall of Bologna (the fourth most populous city in northern Italy), the city’s mayor, representatives of Italy’s three main workers unions (CGIL, CISL and UIL), and two food delivery companies active in Bologna (Sgnam and Mymenu) met and signed the “Paper of fundamental rights of the digital worker … Continue reading
On May 7, 2018 the Labour Court of Turin handed down a landmark decision in a case brought by delivery bike drivers or couriers (“riders”) working for Foodora, an online food delivery company that offers meal delivery in 10 countries worldwide, including Italy. Amongst other things, the riders, each with a freelance work contract with … Continue reading
An employee of an Italian university in Rome has successfully obtained a two-day paid leave of absence from work to care for his pet dog, which had undergone surgery and required special assistance for an additional day to recover. The Italian animal rights association, LAV, advised the employee on submitting his successful request to the … Continue reading
The Italian Data Protection Authority (IDPA) is increasingly faced with issues relating to the ways employers may monitor the Internet usage of its employees. In 2016, the Authority handed down two important decisions on this topic. In the first decision, the IDPA stated that an Italian University (the University of Chieti and Pescara) was acting … Continue reading
In a decision dated December 7, 2016, Italy’s Supreme Court – the Corte di Cassazione – confirmed that the dismissal of an individual employee for redundancy can be legally grounded solely on business-related reasons, such as improving the company’s competitiveness, reducing costs, or increasing profits. The decision was based on the constitutional principle of “freedom … Continue reading
Back in 2003, with the objective of giving employers and employees maximum flexibility to agree to working relations, the so-called zero hour contract, also known informally as “job on call,” was formally introduced into the Italian employment law regime. Under these contracts, the employee agrees to be available to work for the employer only at … Continue reading