January 15, 2025
Compensation and benefits
Corporate welfare: fringe benefits through debit cards remain tax-exempt if they comply with legal limits
Revenue Agency

The Revenue Agency has responded to a query regarding an important issue in the current landscape of corporate welfare plans, which have seen significant growth due to the increased tax exemption thresholds in recent years.

The issue examined pertains to a corporate welfare plan providing fringe benefits through personalized debit cards. Managed by a provider, these cards allow employees to access goods and services from selected vendors, within an annual spending limit set by the employer. The system essentially works like meal voucher cards.

The key aspect of the response concerns the classification of the debit card as a “document of entitlement” under Article 51, paragraph 3-bis, T.U.I.R. Only this classification ensures that the value of the fringe benefits assigned remains exempt from taxes and social security contributions within the annual limit (in 2025, €1,000, raised to €2,000 for employees with children).
The Agency confirmed that benefits assigned through such instruments can remain exempt, provided that:

• the card’s value is neither transferable to third parties nor redeemable for cash;
• the cards can only be used by the holder;
• the voucher must allow purchases without additional payments by the employee;
• single-use vouchers must refer to a specific good or service;
• multi-purpose vouchers may allow the purchase of various goods or services, identifiable through a catalog offered on an electronic platform, which the employee can combine into a “cart.”

In this latter scenario, the employee is registered on an online platform that allows them to purchase goods or services from the vendors and catalog available through the platform within the assigned budget.

December 11, 2024
Personnel administration
Cash payments for reimbursement of business and representation expenses are no longer allowed
“2025 Budget Law”

The 2025 Budget Law introduces a new measure to combat tax evasion, requiring that reimbursements for meal, lodging, travel, and transportation expenses, effective 2025, be paid exclusively via credit cards or other traceable payment methods.
Failure to comply will result in these expenses being non-deductible for direct tax and IRAP purposes by companies, and the related reimbursements to employees will constitute taxable income.
No more cash payments if you want to benefit from tax advantages.

December 30, 2024
Incentives
Budget law: contribution exemption for companies in southern Italy
“2025 Budget Law”

The 2025 Budget Law introduces a new social security relief measure for regions in the so-called “Single ZES” (i.e., Abruzzo, Molise, Campania, Basilicata, Sicily, Puglia, Calabria, and Sardinia), with variations based on company size and reference period.

Micro, small, and medium enterprises can benefit from this aid under the de minimis regime, limited to employees hired under indefinite contracts as of December 31 of the previous year:

• in 2025, the contribution reduction will be 25% of the employer’s INPS contributions, with a maximum amount of €145 per month for 12 months;
• in 2026 and 2027, the reduction will be 20%, with a maximum of €125 per month for 12 months;
• in 2028, the reduction will be 20%, with a maximum of €100 per month for 12 months;
• in 2029, the reduction will be 15%, with a maximum of €75 per month for 12 months.

December 19, 2024
Domestic work – domestic helpers / caregivers
Domestic helpers and caregivers: the EU court requires recording of working hours
Court of Justice

A domestic worker filed a lawsuit challenging both her dismissal and the lack of pay for overtime hours worked. The Court of Appeal, asked to decide, referred to the EU Court of Justice, questioning whether Spanish legislation, which does not provide for a system to measure working hours for domestic workers, complies with European law.

The EU Court of Justice ruled that the absence of a system for recording working hours prevents workers from asserting their rights regarding maximum working limits and mandatory rest periods, as well as recovering overtime hours. According to the Court, these rights cannot be guaranteed without a system that accurately calculates working hours.
The ruling obliges EU member states to adopt an adequate system for tracking working hours.

December 13, 2024
Social security and contributions
Economic difficulties do not exempt employers from criminal liability for unpaid social security contributions
Supreme Court, Criminal Section

This case involved an entrepreneur who, due to the severe financial crisis faced by his company, failed to pay social security and welfare contributions. The entrepreneur argued that the company’s economic situation justified prioritizing employee wages over the contributory obligations.

The Supreme Court rejected the entrepreneur’s argument. The judges reiterated that the failure to pay contributions constitutes a “general intent crime,” which occurs whenever there is a deliberate omission of payment, regardless of the company’s financial difficulties. According to the Supreme Court, the obligation to pay social security contributions cannot be contingent upon the company’s financial resources, nor can it be justified by an economic crisis, no matter how severe.

November 12, 2024
Industrial Relations
Misuse of union leave for personal purposes is unlawful
Supreme Court, Labor Section

A worker, a provincial union leader, was found during an investigation ordered by the employer to have used two days of union leave to accompany his son to selection trials for voluntary enlistment in the Armed Forces, without engaging in any union activity.
The Supreme Court upheld the legitimacy of the dismissal, clarifying that it is unlawful to use union leave for purely personal and family purposes. The union leader’s appeal was dismissed by the Supreme Court.

December 6, 2024
Industrial Relations
Logistics, freight transport, and shipping national collective labor Agreement: update as of December 6, 2024
Trade Unions

Effective January 1, 2025, the new National Collective Labor Agreement (CCNL) for the logistics, freight transport, and shipping sector will be valid until December 31, 2027. Key updates include salary increases, enhanced protections for illness, new provisions on leave, and revised notice periods for dismissals and resignations.

Salary increases, distributed in multiple phases, include the introduction of the Professional Area Element (EPA). For example, at level 3s, the total increase will amount to €230, split between the basic salary and EPA. These increases aim to support workers’ purchasing power in a challenging economic context.

Regarding illness, the agreement introduces new guarantees for workers suffering from serious illnesses requiring life-saving treatments, ensuring full pay for 18 months. Measures have also been included to counter absenteeism, with economic penalties for strategic absences linked to non-working days, except for documented specific cases.

The renewal also includes changes to leave: workers will now receive two additional paid days for the birth, fostering, or adoption of children, and three days for serious family events, which can be increased to four in case of out-of-town assignments.

Finally, notice periods for dismissals and resignations have been revised and defined with greater precision, varying based on job classification levels. These updates offer increased clarity and consistency in managing employment terminations.