Government measures in key jurisdictions 4th edition - Flipbook - Page 74
Italy
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B. Deferred payment of social security contributions:
1.The payment of social security contributions due in April and May 2020 was suspended for (i)
companies that incurred at least in a 33% monthly turnover reduction if their yearly turnover is up
to €50 million; (ii) companies that incurred at least in a 50% monthly turnover reduction if their
yearly turnover is over €50 million. In both cases the reduction refers to the months of March and
April 2020 compared to the same months of FY 2019.
2.The payment of social security contributions was also suspended until 30 April for companies
operating in business sectors severely affected by Covid-19 (such as sports, art, culture, tourism,
transport, education, entertainment and catering).
The new deadline for all suspended payments is 16 September 2020 (or in 4 instalments to be paid
starting from 16 September 2020).
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C. Review of working time by collective agreement: company-level or local collective
agreements entered into with the Trade Unions may define patterns for the re-modulation of
working time (a part of which is to be dedicated to training courses). A special fund called “New
Skills Fund”, with an endowment of €430 million for 2020 and €300 million for 2021, will bear the
cost for training hours (this measure needs to be implemented by a ministerial decree).
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D. Funds for the safeguard of occupation: a specific new fund with an endowment of €100
million for 2020 has been established in order to support the rescue and restructuring of, among
others, companies with at least 250 employees that are in economic and financial difficulty.
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E. Fixed-term employment contracts: until 31 December 2020 fixed-term employment
contracts can be renewed or extended, only once, for a period of 12 months, even without the
specific reasons (“causale”) that are generally required by law, subject to an overall duration that
cannot exceed 24 months. Based on a reasonable interpretation of the provision, the same
exemption should apply also to existing fixed-term staff-leasing contracts.
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F. Other wage subsidies: regions, other territorial authorities and Chambers of Commerce may
adopt aid measures, using their own resources, in order to contribute to the salary and social
security costs incurred by companies to avoid redundancies during the COVID-19 pandemic. This
subsidy may be granted for a maximum of 12 months and up to 80% of the gross monthly salary
(including the social security contributions) and only if the staff benefiting from it continues to
work throughout the period for which the aid is granted. It remains to be seen whether the regions
and other entities will actually offer such measures, given the likely unavailability of resources.
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G. Incentive to hire employees under a permanent employee contract: Employers that hire new
employees, until 31 December 2020, under a permanent employment contract (or if they convert
fixed-term contracts into permanent contracts) are exempted from paying social security
contributions for a period of 6 months from the date of hiring (exemption capped at €8,060 per
year).
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In addition, a 30% exemption from social security obligations has been introduced for companies
active in the South of Italy and in relation with all their employees (both newly or already hired) for
a period of 3 months from 1 October 2020. This relief will become available only after the approval
from the European Commission.
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Employers that hire new employees, until 31 December 2020, under a permanent employment
contract (or if they convert fixed-term contracts into permanent contracts) are exempted from
paying social security contributions for a period of 6 months from the date of hiring (exemption
capped at €8,060 per year).
Government measures in key jurisdictions
74