The draft of the so called ‘April Decree’, if approved, is expected to be released in May (despite its name) and will likely extend the ban to start collective dismissals, as well as to dismiss individuals due to objective justified reasons (i.e. economic reasons), as introduced in Law Decree n. 18 dated 17 March 2020, which entered into force on the same day. However, while the initial ban (under Law Decree n. 18) was for 2 months, the draft of the new ‘April Decree’ would extend the ban on dismissals for an additional 5 months.
The current draft of the ‘April Decree’ stipulates the following provisions:
- the extension of the wage funds (ordinary, extraordinary and derogatory) until 31 October 2020;
- parental leave shall be taken continuously or over a split period, not exceeding 30 days, and will be extended until 30 September 2020. During such leave, the employees are granted an allowance equal to 50% of their salary. Alternatively, parents can choose to receive a babysitting bonus equal to EUR 1.200,00, or may elect to use the bonus to pay for childcare centres and/or related services;
- the creation of a so called ‘emergency remuneration’ equal to a minimum of EUR 400,00 and a maximum of EUR 800,00;
- the payment of a compensation equal to EUR 600,00 for employees affected by the COVID-19 outbreak was, initially, only meant to apply for March 2020, but will be extended to include April 2020 as well; and
- the payment of a compensation equal to EUR 1.000,00 for any freelancer who is registered for VAT and has suffered a reduction of their income equal to at least 33% in the second bimester 2020.
The Italian parliament is presently discussing the draft of the April Decree. Should the decree be approved in its current form, the likely outcome is that it will spark debate concerning its compliance with Italy’s Constitution.
LABLAW will continue to provide you with updates as the situation unfolds in order to ensure you can manage your workforce, and hence. Please do not hesitate to contact us on + 39 02 30 31 11 or at info@lablaw.com if you have any questions. For more information on these articles or any other issues involving labour and employment matters in Italy, please contact Michela Bani (Partner) of LabLaw at m.bani@lablaw.com or visit www.lablaw.com.
For more information please contact Joseph Granato, Communications Manager at L&E Global at joseph.granato@leglobal.org.