The Italian Budget Law 2023 (Italian Law No 197/2022) was published in the Official Journal (Gazzetta Ufficiale) on 29 December 2022 and comes into force on 1 January 2023 and introduces the following important initiatives in the employment law field.
Agile working: as of 1 January 2023, the categories of workers with the right to agile working will be reduced. Until 31 March 2023, only so-called ‘vulnerable’ persons will have this right, workers with children under 14 being excluded.
Parental leave: an extra month of optional, 80% paid parental leave is introduced. The leave may be taken by either parent, alternatively, until the child is six years old.
Recruitment incentives for permanent contracts: for the whole of 2023, there will be incentives for the recruitment of permanent hires with a contribution threshold of up to EUR 8,000 for those who already have a fixed-term contract and in particular for women under 36 and for citizenship income recipients.
Productivity bonuses: as of 2023, the taxation of productivity bonuses will decrease from 10 per cent to 5 per cent. The preferential taxation applies to variable bonuses not exceeding EUR 3,000.
Temporary income: the possibility of using temporary employment services is extended by increasing the maximum limit of remuneration that can be paid by each employer from EUR 5,000 to EUR 10,000 per year. These temporary services may also be used for agricultural activities, as well as by employers with up to ten employees on permanent contracts, instead of five.
Vouchers: employment vouchers for temporary services are back, with a limit rising from EUR 5,000 to 10,000, for temporary services used in certain sectors, including agricultural activities, the hotel industry, personal care activities, and domestic work.
Pensions: there is a lot of news on the pensions front. The renewal for 2023 of the Early Pension (Anticipo Pensionistico – ‘APE Sociale’) and the extension of the Woman’s option 2023 (Opzione donna 2023) are confirmed, the latter with some limitations on the prerequisites with respect to the original measure (only for caregivers, women with disabilities and employees of companies in crisis). Introduction of the new ‘Quota 103’ whereby the pension prerequisite is reached at the age of 62 and after 41 years of contributions, but only applies to 2023. Finally, a new pension revaluation system for the years 2023 – 2024 is also in the offing.
Self-employment: the flat-rate regime, which provides for taxation at a rate of 15 per cent, will apply to revenues up to EUR 85,000, instead of the current EUR 65,000.
Other related insights:
Covid-19 and right to the use of parental leave: INPS provides the first indications
