31 October 2025
Industrial relations
Requiring exclusive use of English without interpreters is anti-union
Court of Cassation, Labour Section

A multinational company, during negotiations for the establishment of a European Works Council (EWC), required that meetings between the special negotiating body (SNB) and management be conducted exclusively in English, without providing any interpreting services. Trade unions brought legal action seeking a declaration that this conduct was anti-union.

The Court of Appeal upheld the claim, finding that the mandatory use of a single language, unilaterally imposed by the employer, impaired the full participation of delegates and affected their ability to engage in dialogue and discussion.

The Court of Cassation confirmed the decision, reiterating that imposing English as the sole working language without guaranteeing translation services violates the principles of proper worker information and consultation established under EU law. The use of interpreters – the Court noted – is essential to ensure effective and equal participation, while offering language courses cannot be considered an adequate measure.

The absence of such safeguards renders the employer’s conduct anti-union and results in the automatic establishment of the European Works Council.

30 September 2025
Apprenticeship
Apprenticeship contract is void if no actual training is provided
Tivoli Tribunal

A worker employed as a fitter brought an action before the Tribunal seeking a declaration that his apprenticeship contract was void. According to the employee, the employer had never provided any training activities. The Tribunal ruled in favour of the employee.

The Judge held that an apprenticeship loses its contractual purpose (“legal cause”) if the company cannot prove that it carried out a concrete training programme consistent with the individual training plan. The purpose of this type of contract is to facilitate guided entry of young people into the labour market through a training programme consisting of alternating theoretical and practical phases.

In this case, the company provided no evidence of either the training plan or the execution of any training activities. The Tribunal therefore declared the professional apprenticeship contract void due to the employer’s failure to meet its training obligations. In such cases, the relationship must be classified as an ordinary open-ended employment contract from the outset, entitling the worker to wage differences and regularisation of social security contributions.

11 September 2025
Industrial relations
New CNEL rules for the Collective Agreement Archive: enhanced transparency and traceability
CNEL

CNEL has redefined the criteria for organising and managing the National Archive of collective labour agreements.

The reform aims to ensure maximum transparency in the publication of contractual texts and accurate identification of the regulatory sources governing employment relationships, both in the private and public sectors.

The new framework introduces stricter filing procedures: the contracting parties must submit the final texts of agreements within set deadlines, accompanied by information on ATECO codes, number of employees and scope of application. A classification of contracts based on the ATECO taxonomy is also introduced, with verification of their actual application through Uniemens data flows.

The Resolution also strengthens the traceability system for national and territorial collective agreements by assigning a unique alphanumeric code and publishing summary data and six-monthly reports on the CNEL portal. The goal is to ensure a complete and verifiable overview of collective bargaining, countering fragmentation and unfair competition among contracts.CNEL has redefined the criteria for organising and managing the National Archive of collective labour agreements.

The reform aims to ensure maximum transparency in the publication of contractual texts and accurate identification of the regulatory sources governing employment relationships, both in the private and public sectors.

The new framework introduces stricter filing procedures: the contracting parties must submit the final texts of agreements within set deadlines, accompanied by information on ATECO codes, number of employees and scope of application. A classification of contracts based on the ATECO taxonomy is also introduced, with verification of their actual application through Uniemens data flows.

The Resolution also strengthens the traceability system for national and territorial collective agreements by assigning a unique alphanumeric code and publishing summary data and six-monthly reports on the CNEL portal. The goal is to ensure a complete and verifiable overview of collective bargaining, countering fragmentation and unfair competition among contracts.

27 October 2025
Dismissal for just cause
Lawful dismissal for off-duty conduct incompatible with medical restrictions
Court of Cassation, Labour Section

A production line worker was dismissed for having carried out personal training activities, performing weightlifting exercises in clear violation of the company doctor’s restrictions, which limited movement above shoulder height and lifts exceeding 18 kg.

The disciplinary dismissal, challenged by the employee, was upheld by both the Tribunal and the Court of Appeal. The Supreme Court rejected the appeal, reiterating that off-duty conduct may breach duties of fairness, loyalty and good faith even when not performed during working hours, if it is incompatible with the worker’s physical condition and potentially capable of undermining the employer’s trust.

It is therefore lawful to dismiss for just cause a worker who, contrary to medical limitations, engages in physical activities that may worsen their conditions, calling into question their future reliability in performing contractual duties.

The Court further clarified that the evidence of the conduct did not stem from covert investigations but from the worker’s implicit admission and publicly accessible social media posts.

30 October 2025
Social security and contributions
2025 contribution rates: updated income thresholds for artisans and traders
INPS

INPS has updated the contribution rates for 2025 for self-employed workers enrolled in the artisans’ and traders’ schemes. The new rules incorporate changes resulting from adjustments to minimum and maximum taxable income thresholds, in line with ISTAT’s consumer price index.

For the current year, the minimum income for calculating contributions is set at €18,200, while the maximum taxable income for those without contribution seniority prior to 1996 is €123,580. Rates remain unchanged at 24% for artisans and 24.48% for traders, plus a maternity contribution of €0.62 per month.

The 35% reduction is also confirmed for workers enrolled in the separate scheme who have opted for the simplified “forfettario” tax regime. Companies must update their Uniemens filings starting with the January 2025 reporting period.

Operational instructions and payment procedures, including authorisation codes and automatic calculation details, are available in the companies’ social security dashboard.

3 October 2025
Employment contract – ancillary agreements
Publicly owned companies: no obligation to apply rules governing public competitions
Perugia Tribunal

A worker had taken part in a 2021 recruitment procedure launched by a publicly owned company, being deemed suitable but not selected. Over three years later, the company decided to use the ranking list and asked him to declare the absence of conflicts of interest. In the meantime, the candidate’s sister had been hired, and the company excluded him from recruitment due to the conflict of interest under internal regulations.

The worker challenged the exclusion, arguing that any conflict of interest should be assessed at the time of the original selection, not when the ranking list is used.

The Perugia Tribunal dismissed the claim, clarifying that publicly owned companies, although subject to principles of transparency and impartiality, are still private-law entities and are not required to apply the rules governing public competitions. The decision to use or not use an existing ranking list falls entirely within the company’s discretion and does not constitute a right of the candidate, but merely a factual expectation.

The Judge therefore upheld the lawfulness of the company’s conduct and ordered the worker to pay legal costs.

10 November 2025
Pay and benefits
Prison labour: limitation period runs only at the end of the unitary employment relationship
Court of Cassation, Labour Section

An inmate brought an action against the Ministry of Justice seeking wage adjustments for work performed inside the prison between 2014 and 2022. The Rome Tribunal partly upheld his claims, but the Rome Court of Appeal reduced the amount, finding that the various duties performed constituted separate employment relationships and that the limitation period should therefore run from the end of each of them.

The Supreme Court upheld the appeal, clarifying that prison labour must be considered a single, unitary employment relationship and not fragmented into multiple periods of assignment. Interruptions between tasks, due to rotation or lack of available positions, constitute mere suspensions and not terminations of the relationship.

The inmate, in fact, is in a condition of subordination and cannot influence his “assignment to work”; therefore, such pauses cannot be considered interruptions for limitation purposes. The limitation period for wage claims, the Court specified, begins only at the end of the unitary relationship, not during intermediate intervals.

The decision, consistent with similar precedents, reinforces the rehabilitative purpose of prison labour and strengthens the protection of working inmates vis-à-vis the Administration.