Browse through brief employment and labor law updates from around the globe. Contact a Littler attorney for more information or view our global locations.

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COVID-19: Short-Time Work

New Order or Decree

Authors: Carlo Majer, Partner and Nicola Comelli, Associate – Littler Italy

To address the COVID-19 pandemic, Italy created several short-time work programs, allowing employers to reduce employee working hours down to zero per week while allowing employees to receive up to 80% of the lost salary (with a cap of approx. EUR 1,100 monthly) from the Italian Social Security Authority (INPS). Throughout May and June 2020, the Government introduced a further round of legislation, which extended the duration of the COVID-19 short-time work programs to 18 weeks (previously set at nine weeks), to be used within August 2020 (four weeks may be postponed to September/October 2020). The government is currently discussing possible extensions/amendments to short-time work programs.

COVID-19: Moratorium for Collective and Individual Dismissals

New Order or Decree

Authors: Carlo Majer, Partner and Nicola Comelli, Associate – Littler Italy

To protect jobs during the COVID-19 emergency, in March 2020, Italy declared a dismissal moratorium, which has been extended to August 17, 2020. During the moratorium, employers cannot implement individual or collective dismissals based on economic reasons and collective dismissals that started before March 17, 2020 are also suspended. Executives are excluded from the ban and employers may still dismiss employees for justified subjective reason or just cause, as well as for not passing the probationary period. The government is discussing possible additional extensions of the dismissal moratorium and, if approved, a new decree may be issued before the end of July 2020.

Flexibility of Fixed-Term Contracts

New Order or Decree

Authors: Carlo Majer, Partner and Nicola Comelli, Associate – Littler Italy

To help businesses recover from the COVID-19 crisis, the government has amended the rules for fixed-term contracts. Specifically, employers may extend or renew fixed-term contracts until August 30, 2020, without the need to indicate the “reason” or “cause.” This amendment – providing an exception to the normal obligation that requires a reason or cause for extensions or renewals that exceed 12 months – applies only to employment contracts that are effective as of February 23, 2020. The Italian government is considering new measures to allow for greater flexibility for fixed-term contracts, precisely to help restart business activities. If approved, such measures are expected to be implemented before the end of July 2020.

COVID-19: Work from Home Arrangements

New Order or Decree

Authors: Carlo Majer, Partner and Nicola Comelli, Associate – Littler Italy

The Italian government has created several measures to contain the spread of COVID-19 virus and guarantee a healthy and safe workplace for employers and employees. To that end, the government and the main Union Association co-signed a shared protocol of recommendations to maximize the use of work from home (WFH) arrangements whenever possible. Through presidential decrees, WFH may be available to employees until July 31, 2020, even in the absence of individual agreements with the employer. Additionally, employees with children under 14 years old are entitled to WFH arrangements if the tasks can be carried out from home.

COVID-19: Privacy Regulations

New Order or Decree

Authors: Carlo Majer, Partner and Nicola Comelli, Associate – Littler Italy

For the processing of personal data related to COVID-19, employers must comply with the requirements under the GDPR, as well as the Italian government’s privacy regulations issued specifically to address the pandemic. Employees undergoing temperature screening before entering their workplace must be informed of: (i) the purpose of the screening, (ii) the legal basis of the anti-contamination security protocol, and (iii) the duration of any data storage. Moreover, employers must comply with general privacy principles, ensuring security and appropriate confidentiality when (a) collecting COVID-19 related information from employees; (b) managing a symptomatic employee; (c) sharing employee-related information with other employees; and (d) sharing temperature-related data with health and public authorities.