{"id":69719,"date":"2026-05-18T11:29:50","date_gmt":"2026-05-18T09:29:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lexia.it\/?p=69719"},"modified":"2026-05-18T11:29:52","modified_gmt":"2026-05-18T09:29:52","slug":"insight-391-may-18-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lexia.it\/en\/2026\/05\/18\/insight-391-may-18-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"”Rights and Duties in Employment Relationships” – Insight No. 391 of may 18, 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

25 March 2026
Inspections and Penalties
Threats of Dismissal and Reduced Wages: Cassation Rules the Conduct Is Extortion, Not Mere Labour Exploitation<\/strong>
Court of Cassation, Second Criminal Division<\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The case arose from criminal proceedings concerning a number of foreign workers employed on various construction sites for the installation of photovoltaic systems. According to the prosecution, the company imposed particularly burdensome working conditions: pay below the amounts due, excessive hours, and constant pressure accompanied by threats of dismissal. Following conviction in the lower courts, the defendants argued that the conduct could only be classified as labour exploitation and not as the more serious offence of extortion.
The Supreme Court clarified the distinguishing criterion between the two offences. Labour exploitation protects the individual and penalises situations in which a worker’s state of need is taken advantage of. Extortion, by contrast, applies where violence or threats are used to obtain an unjust profit at the victim’s financial expense.
Accordingly, where an employer compels a worker to accept inferior pay or worsened conditions by threatening loss of employment, thereby obtaining an unjust economic advantage, the conduct constitutes extortion. The profit may consist in savings on wages, the imposition of additional hours, or the non-payment of accrued entitlements. The ruling reaffirms that labour exploitation may carry more serious criminal consequences where the infringement of workers’ rights is accompanied by a financial advantage obtained through intimidation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

14 May 2026
Incentives
Youth Bonus 2026: Incentives of Up to \u20ac650 Per Month Cleared for New Hirings<\/strong>
INPS<\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

INPS has provided the first operational guidance on the new Youth Bonus 2026, a measure designed to promote stable employment for workers under 35 who are in a situation of disadvantage or particular difficulty in finding work. The relief applies to open-ended hirings made between 1 January and 31 December 2026.
The benefit consists of a 100% exemption from employer social security contributions, excluding INAIL premiums. The standard amount may reach up to \u20ac500 per month per worker hired. For hirings at premises or productive units located in the regions of the single Special Economic Zone (ZES), the ceiling rises to \u20ac650 per month.
The duration of the incentive varies depending on the category of worker hired: in some cases the exemption may be granted for up to 24 months, while for other categories of disadvantaged workers the duration is limited to 12 months.
The circular also clarifies that the benefit is subject to specific conditions: a net increase in employment, contribution regularity, compliance with employment legislation, and adherence to the general principles governing hiring incentives. Interested companies should therefore carefully verify the applicable requirements before accessing the measure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

14 May 2026
Incentives
ZES Bonus 2026: Full Contribution Exemption of Up to \u20ac650 for New Hirings in Southern Italy<\/strong>
INPS<\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

INPS has provided the first operational guidance on the new ZES Bonus 2026, the incentive designed to support employment in the regions of the single Special Economic Zone in Southern Italy. The measure is aimed at private employers making open-ended hirings during 2026 at operational premises located in the regions concerned.
The benefit consists of a 100% exemption from employer social security contributions, up to a maximum of \u20ac650 per month per worker hired, with INAIL premiums excluded.
The incentive applies to hirings of non-managerial staff aged at least 35 who have been unemployed for at least twenty-four months. Only employers with up to ten employees at the time of hiring may access the benefit.
The circular also clarifies that the benefit does not apply to conversions from fixed-term to open-ended contracts, apprenticeships, or domestic work. Specific conditions also remain in force, including compliance with the net employment increase requirement and restrictions linked to dismissals carried out in the months preceding or following the hiring.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

14 May 2026
Incentives
Women’s Bonus 2026: Full Contribution Exemption for New Hirings of Up to \u20ac800 Per Month<\/strong>
INPS<\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

INPS has provided the first operational guidance on the new Women’s Bonus 2026, a measure introduced to promote female employment through a significant contribution incentive for private employers. The relief applies to open-ended hirings made between 1 January and 31 December 2026 and is aimed at supporting the employment of women considered disadvantaged or severely disadvantaged.
The benefit consists of a 100% exemption from employer social security contributions, with a standard ceiling of \u20ac650 per month per worker. The amount may rise to \u20ac800 per month where the worker resides in the regions included in the single Special Economic Zone in Southern Italy.
The measure applies, among other cases, to women who have been without regularly paid employment for at least twenty-four months, or at least twelve months if they belong to specific vulnerable categories. For certain situations the benefit may last up to twenty-four months.
Domestic work, apprenticeships, intermittent work, and conversions from fixed-term contracts are excluded from the relief. Access to the incentive also requires compliance with the general conditions applicable to contribution benefits and a genuine net increase in employment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

30 April 2026
Individual Dismissal
Unlawful Dismissal Is Not Enough: “Offensive” Damage Requires Genuinely Insulting Conduct<\/strong>
Court of Cassation, Labour Division<\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

A worker with a long professional history had been dismissed three times within the space of a few months: two disciplinary dismissals and a subsequent dismissal on organisational grounds. All three measures had been declared unlawful in earlier proceedings. The lower courts had also awarded the worker \u20ac50,000 in non-pecuniary damages for offensive dismissal, finding that the repeated attribution of serious unfounded allegations was harmful to the worker’s dignity.
The Supreme Court reversed this conclusion, clarifying that the offensive nature of a dismissal does not coincide with its unlawfulness. The worker may obtain additional compensation only where the termination was accompanied by conduct concretely offensive to the person’s dignity and honour, or by unjustified and harmful publicity surrounding the measure.
In the case at hand, the mere seriousness of the allegations that were subsequently disproved was not found to be sufficient. The circulation of news of the dismissal within the workplace was also considered an inevitable consequence of the termination of employment, rather than the result of offensive conduct by the employer. In the absence of further harmful elements, no autonomous damage beyond that already arising from the unlawfulness of the dismissal can be recognised.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

11 May 2026
Null Dismissal
Retaliatory Dismissal: Circumstantial Evidence May Be Sufficient to Prove the Unlawful Motive<\/strong>
Court of Cassation, Labour Division<\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

A worker had been dismissed on disciplinary grounds, based on allegations of negligence, disengagement from the company, insubordination, and limited willingness to be flexible on working hours. After varying outcomes in the lower courts, the Court of Appeal declared the dismissal null and void, finding that the termination was a reaction to the worker’s legitimate claims regarding overtime.
The Supreme Court confirmed this approach, focusing on the evidential criteria required to establish the retaliatory nature of a dismissal. The worker must demonstrate that the unlawful motive was the exclusive and determining reason for the employer’s decision to dismiss. Such proof, however, may be established by means of presumptions.
In the case at hand, the judges attached weight to a combination of factors: the vagueness of the disciplinary charge, the concrete lack of substance in the allegations, the disproportionate nature of the sanction, and the company’s evident impatience with the worker’s requests concerning compliance with overtime limits. An overall assessment of these circumstances led to the conclusion that the dismissal was a reaction to legitimate claims by the worker and therefore constituted a null retaliatory termination.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

11 May 2026
Dismissal for Just Cause
Repeated Absences and Late Holiday Requests: Dismissal Upheld Even for “Similar” Conduct<\/strong>
Court of Cassation, Labour Division<\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

A worker challenged the disciplinary dismissal served by the company following a series of absences found to be unjustified and multiple conservative sanctions accumulated over a two-year period. The worker argued that the episodes charged were of a different nature from one another and that some absences had been notified in accordance with a tolerated company practice. Both the Tribunal and the Court of Appeal dismissed the claim, a decision subsequently confirmed by the Court of Cassation.
The Supreme Court found the lower courts’ assessment of the lawfulness of the dismissal to be correct. In particular, the ruling emphasises the principle that, for the purposes of applying the recidivism provisions in the applicable collective agreement, conduct may be considered “similar” not only where it is identical, but also where it produces the same organisational and disciplinary effect. In the case at hand, late requests for annual leave \u2014 submitted after the absence had already begun \u2014 were treated as equivalent to absences without prior justification, since they were equally capable of causing organisational disruption to the company.
The ruling also confirms that a progressive escalation of conservative sanctions may reinforce the sustainability of a subsequent disciplinary dismissal based on the repetition of the offending conduct.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

25 March 2026Inspections and PenaltiesThreats of Dismissal and Reduced Wages: Cassation Rules the Conduct Is Extortion, Not Mere Labour ExploitationCourt of Cassation, Second Criminal Division The case arose from criminal proceedings concerning a number of foreign workers employed on various construction sites for the installation of photovoltaic systems. According to the prosecution, the company imposed … Continued<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[666],"tags":[],"area":[],"collana":[],"competenza":[],"class_list":["post-69719","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news-en"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nInsight No. 391 of may 18, 2026 - LEXIA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\""Rights and Duties in the Employment Relationship" - Insight No. 391, May 18, 2026 - Discover More - LEXIA\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.lexia.it\/en\/2026\/05\/18\/insight-391-may-18-2026\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Insight No. 391 of may 18, 2026 - 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