Italy has extensive employment laws as well as strong Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBAs). Both can make hiring employees and ensuring compliance difficult. Companies need to understand every aspect of Italy’s employment law to avoid fines or other penalties.
Recruiting in Italy
Before you start recruiting in Italy, you’ll need to make sure you’re using the right channels to reach the best candidates for the job. A few popular recruitment channels in Italy include:
- Personal recommendations: Many employees in Italy depend on their personal networks to find jobs. If your business doesn’t have an established presence in the local market yet, you might benefit from working with a global growth partner that does.
- Social media platforms: In Italy, employers are increasingly using social media to source talent and connect with potential hires. LinkedIn and Facebook are commonly used.
- Job boards: Online job boards can also be an excellent way to advertise your open positions.
Newspapers are not widely read in Italy, so you’ll probably want to reconsider advertising in print.
Laws against discrimination in Italy
In addition to understanding Italian business etiquette and traditions, you’ll also need to understand the laws against discrimination before recruiting new talent for your international team. The Italian Constitution grants equality to all citizens regardless of language, religion, race, ethnic origin, gender, political opinions, personal and social conditions, membership of a trade union, personal beliefs, disability, age, sexual orientation, marital status, pregnancy, maternity or paternity, and status as a part-time worker.
Italian law forbids both direct and indirect discrimination when it comes to hiring, promoting, and terminating employees. To avoid issues with compliance during the hiring process, you should stick to the following guidelines:
- Avoid asking questions about any protected category – for example, pregnancy or family status during interviews and any other steps of the recruitment process.
- Don’t use phrases like “recent graduate” or “highly experienced” in job postings unless they are true requirements for the position.
- Don’t use a candidate’s trade union activity as a deciding factor during the hiring process.
- Only ask for information that is relevant to assessing whether the candidate has the right skills and experience for the job position.
How to hire employees in Italy
CBAs, or Collective Bargaining Agreements, between trade unions and employers’ associations are common in all sectors. National CBAs are only binding if the company is a member of the relevant employers’ association. If a company is not a member, it does not have to apply the rules agreed to via CBA. However, the agreement applies if reference is made to it in the employment contract or the employer adopts its terms.
It is legally required to put a strong employment contract in place in Italy which spells out the terms of the employee’s compensation, employee level (salaried employees, middle managers, and executives), benefits, PTO, notice period, probationary period (if any), holidays and paid leave, and termination requirements. An employment contract in Italy should always state the salary and any compensation amounts in gross euros rather than an alternate currency. Many terms of an employment contract are dictated by the applicable CBA.
Italy employment laws
Both employers and employees need to follow certain steps to stay compliant. For example, employees need to give employers specific personal data before their first day. Employers must also report the employment contract terms to the Insurance Institute, Labor Agency, and social security office prior to the employee’s start date. Any lapse in providing this information by the deadlines can lead to hefty fines.
Onboarding in Italy
If you are new to conducting business in Italy, understanding the country’s culture and workplace practices is essential. It’s a good idea to hire someone well-versed in both Italy employment compliance and the more subtle aspects of the country’s culture.
During the onboarding stage, consider these additional tasks:
- Meet with the employee and go over the employment contract before their first day.
- Review any other relevant company documents such as a code of conduct.
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