{"id":71576,"date":"2026-06-22T11:42:56","date_gmt":"2026-06-22T09:42:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lexia.it\/?p=71576"},"modified":"2026-06-22T11:42:57","modified_gmt":"2026-06-22T09:42:57","slug":"insight-396-june-22-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lexia.it\/en\/2026\/06\/22\/insight-396-june-22-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"”Rights and Duties in Employment Relationships” – Insight No. 396 of june 22, 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

10 June 2026
Pay and Benefits
Company Cars: New Rules Incoming on Fringe Benefits Based on Vehicle Age and Reassignment<\/strong>
Council of Ministers<\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The Council of Ministers has approved, in preliminary examination, a new corrective legislative decree to the tax reform which, once definitively approved and published, could significantly amend the tax treatment of company cars granted to workers for mixed personal and business use.
Among the most notable innovations is the link between the taxable value of the fringe benefit and the age of the vehicle. For cars less than five years old from registration, the percentages currently in force would continue to apply; for older vehicles, the taxable value would instead be increased by 50%, resulting in higher taxation for the worker. The measure is intended to encourage the renewal of company car fleets towards vehicles that are more efficient from an environmental standpoint.
The decree also introduces a flat-rate increase of 5% to account for optional extras and accessories not valued under the reference tables, thereby filling a gap that had previously given rise to uncertainty in application.
It is further clarified that the reassignment of a vehicle to a different worker constitutes an ordinary allocation and does not give rise to any particular tax aggravation. Finally, a transitional regime is envisaged for vehicles ordered by 31 December 2024 and assigned by 31 December 2025, which will retain the previous tax treatment. It nevertheless remains advisable to await the definitive approval of the measure in order to verify the final content of the new provisions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

27 April 2026
Contracts and Outsourcing
Environmental Service Contracts: The CCNL Specified in the Tender May Bind the Treatment of Workers<\/strong>
Court of Cassation, Labour Division<\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

A number of workers employed in waste collection services had sought recognition of more favourable pay treatment, arguing that the contracting company should have applied the collective agreement (CCNL, Contratto Collettivo Nazionale di Lavoro) for the environmental services sector rather than that for social cooperatives. The claim was upheld at first instance, but the Court of Appeal subsequently dismissed it.
The Court of Cassation quashed the second-instance decision, finding the interpretation of the clause contained in the procurement contract to be incorrect. The judges emphasised that, where the tender documentation expressly requires the successful bidder to guarantee economic and regulatory treatment no less favourable than that provided for by the collective agreement of the relevant sector, such a provision cannot be deprived of meaning through an interpretation that freely permits the application of a different agreement.
The judgment underlines that the interpretation of contractual clauses must take into account not only the literal wording but also the actual purpose pursued by the parties. In the case examined, the provision appeared designed to ensure homogeneous conditions among the economic operators participating in the tender and to safeguard fair competition. The court to which the case has been remitted must therefore re-examine the matter, verifying the actual scope of the clause and the concrete conditions of the workers concerned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

27 March 2026
Whistleblowing
Whistleblowing: Dismissal Based on a Worker’s Report Is Null and Void<\/strong>
Tribunal of Catania<\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The case arose from the dismissal for just cause communicated to a manager following statements he had made to the judicial authority concerning alleged irregularities discovered in the course of his employment. The employer considered those statements to be unfounded, disparaging, and damaging to the organisation’s reputation, and further alleged that the worker had failed to make prior use of the internal reporting channels.
The Tribunal upheld the claim and declared the dismissal null and void. According to the court, whistleblowing legislation protects not only reports made through the internal or external channels provided for by law, but also reports submitted directly to the judicial authority, where they concern facts learned in the course of employment and are based on elements that allow the reporting person to entertain a reasonable suspicion as to the existence of irregularities.
That protection applies even where subsequent investigations do not confirm the worker’s allegations, provided that the worker acted in good faith and on the basis of information genuinely available to him. In such cases, the employer may not adopt retaliatory measures connected with the report.
Since the dismissal had been justified precisely by reference to the statements made by the worker to the judicial authority, the Tribunal found a breach of the protections afforded to whistleblowers, ordering reinstatement and compensation for damages in accordance with the criteria applicable to public sector employment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

9 June 2026
Pay and Benefits
Performance Bonuses and Corporate Welfare: Favourable Threshold Rises to Euro 5,000, Including for Benefits<\/strong>
Italian Revenue Agency<\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The Italian Revenue Agency has issued clarification on the application of the changes introduced by the 2026 Budget Law in relation to productivity bonuses and profit-sharing schemes. The issue concerned the coordination between the new favourable threshold provided for such sums and the option, available to the worker, of converting them into corporate welfare benefits.
The rules applicable for 2026 and 2027 provide for a significant reduction in the taxation applicable to performance bonuses, accompanied by an increase in the maximum favourable amount from Euro 3,000 to Euro 5,000. Doubts had nonetheless arisen as to whether this new threshold could also apply where the worker chooses to receive, in place of the cash bonus, corporate welfare goods and services.
According to the Agency, the answer is in the affirmative. The option to convert the bonus into a benefit forms an integral part of the same favourable scheme and must be read consistently with the amendments introduced by the Budget Law. It follows that the new ceiling of Euro 5,000 also applies where the worker opts to receive the bonus in the form of corporate welfare, without prejudice to the specific limits applicable to individual benefits.
The clarification broadens interest in welfare instruments and offers companies greater scope to structure tax-efficient incentive schemes, whilst also enhancing the worker’s freedom of choice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

11 June 2026
Inspections and Penalties
Disciplinary Sanctions and Proportionality: A Fine Is Unlawful Where the Conduct Warrants a Lesser Reprimand<\/strong>
Court of Cassation, Labour Division<\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

A worker had challenged a disciplinary fine equivalent to four hours’ pay, imposed for conduct considered disrespectful towards a line manager.
After her claim was dismissed at first instance, the Court of Appeal declared the sanction unlawful, finding it disproportionate to the conduct alleged.
The Court of Cassation confirmed that the principle of proportionality constitutes the fundamental criterion in assessing disciplinary sanctions. In particular, it clarified that the rule requiring the application of the sanction provided for the most serious infraction applies only where the various violations alleged are punishable by sanctions of differing severity. Where, by contrast, all the conduct falls within the same sanctioning bracket, the assessment must be carried out by verifying, in concrete terms, the proportionality between the conduct alleged and the disciplinary measure applied.
The ruling further reaffirms that the assessment of the adequacy of the sanction falls to the court hearing the merits, which must take into account the context in which the conduct occurred, the presence or absence of prior disciplinary sanctions, and the actual seriousness of the behaviour. It follows that a conservative sanction may be set aside where it exceeds what is reasonably necessary in relation to the conduct alleged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

27 April 2026
Fixed-Term Employment
Seasonal Work: No Five-Extension Limit Applies to Contracts Predating the Dignity Decree<\/strong>
Court of Cassation, Labour Division<\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The dispute arose from a claim brought by a seasonal worker seeking conversion of his employment relationship to an open-ended contract, on the ground that the company had exceeded the maximum limit of five extensions applicable to fixed-term contracts. The lower courts had upheld the claim, finding that limit applicable to seasonal relationships as well, and ordered the conversion of the contract. The Court of Cassation reversed that conclusion. According to the Supreme Court, under the rules applicable to the facts of the case, seasonal employment relationships were excluded from the maximum thirty-six month duration limit applicable to fixed-term contracts generally. Precisely because the five-extension limit is constructed within that temporal framework, it cannot be extended to seasonal relationships, which are expressly excluded from it.
The Supreme Court observed that the legislature had provided specific exceptions for seasonal work, recognising that the very nature of the activity constitutes valid justification for the repetition of contracts. Seasonality represents an objective reason capable of legitimising recourse to fixed-term employment without the maximum five-extension limit applying. It follows that, for relationships governed by the rules predating the amendments introduced in 2018, exceeding the fifth extension does not result in the automatic conversion of the seasonal contract into an open-ended one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

21 May 2026
Health and Safety at Work
Victim of Duty Status: A Harmful Environment Is Not Enough, an Extraordinary Risk Is Required<\/strong>
Court of Cassation, Labour Division<\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The heirs of a firefighter who had died of lung cancer had sought recognition of “victim of duty” status and the associated benefits. The claim had been dismissed by both the Tribunal and the Court of Appeal, which found that the existence of exceptional operational conditions, beyond those normally associated with the activity performed, had not been demonstrated.
The Court of Cassation confirmed that conclusion, reaffirming a now well-established principle. To obtain recognition of victim of duty status, it is not sufficient that the illness be connected to the work activity or that the worker was exposed to harmful conditions. An additional element must instead be demonstrated, consisting of particular environmental or operational conditions that gave rise to a greater risk than that ordinarily associated with the duties performed.
According to the Supreme Court, even a breach of safety obligations or the presence of an unhealthy working environment does not automatically result in recognition of the benefit. Such circumstances may be relevant under other forms of protection, but do not substitute for proof of the existence of an extraordinary and specific risk.
The ruling therefore confirms that recognition of victim of duty status requires a rigorous assessment of the concrete manner in which the work activity was carried out and of the actual presence of a risk exceeding that normally inherent in the duties entrusted to the worker.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

10 June 2026Pay and BenefitsCompany Cars: New Rules Incoming on Fringe Benefits Based on Vehicle Age and ReassignmentCouncil of Ministers The Council of Ministers has approved, in preliminary examination, a new corrective legislative decree to the tax reform which, once definitively approved and published, could significantly amend the tax treatment of company cars granted to … 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-71576","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news-en"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nInsight No. 396 of June 22, 2026 - LEXIA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\""Rights and Duties in the Employment Relationship" - Insight No. 396, June 22, 2026 - 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