Working in Italy - Special Categories

Disabled Persons' Right to Employment

Law No 68 of 12 March 1999, entitled ‘Regulations on disabled persons' right to employment' is intended to encourage the employment of disabled persons through support services and targeted employment.

The provisions of this law apply to persons with physical, sensorial or mental disabilities or mentally-retarded persons with a reduced working capacity greater then 45 percent which has been ascertained by a medical committee competent for the recognition of physical and mental disability; persons who have been certified disabled (with a degree of incapacity to work greater than 33 percent) by the Italian Workers' Compensation Authority (Istituto nazionale per l'assicurazione contro gli infortuni sul lavoro e le malattie professionali) (INAIL); the blind and the deaf and dumb; disabled war veterans; civilian war victims and civilians injured during the performance of their work or service.

"Targeted employment" refers to the process of accurately evaluating the degree of disability of disabled persons and their capacity for work by means of appropriate technical instruments and subsequent suitable employment. The process of evaluation includes the study of various, appropriate forms of employment and working duties, the creation of support systems and positive action and solutions relating to various problems connected with working environments and interpersonal relations in the workplace.

Services for the integration of disabled persons into the workplace are managed by Italian provincial authorities and operate in liaison with other social, health, education and training services at provincial level and with the support of a "technical committee" formed by a panel of experts.

Unemployed disabled persons who wish to find a form of employment suitable for their limited working capacities must register with the competent authorities to be assisted by the targeted employment schemes.

Employers' Obligations and Benefits for Firms and Organisations Hiring Disabled Persons'

Employers in the private sector and in the various branches of the Italian Civil Service are obliged to hire a certain proportion of disabled persons: 

• seven percent of workers employed, if they have more than 50 employees
• two workers, if they have between 36 and 50 employees
• one worker, if they have between 15 and 35 employees

Employers obliged to hire a certain number of disabled persons must present to the competent offices information concerning their form of organisation and structure and submit a request for the employment of a quota of disabled persons. Penalties are applied in the case of employers who do not conform to the provisions of law. Firms and organisations, both private and public, which intend to take part in competitions for public contracts or seek contracts or concessions with public boards and administrations, must certify that they have satisfied the requirements of the regulations governing disabled persons' right to employment.

To facilitate the integration of disabled persons into the workplace, the competent authorities may establish special agreements for firms and may grant employers in the private sector certain benefits when they hire persons with a limited capacity for work. This may include the total or partial reduction of social security contributions paid on behalf of disabled employees for a period of five to eight years and partial reimbursement of expenses incurred for the adaptation of working facilities where necessary, for equipment needed for teleworking and adaptations made to working premises.

Terms of Employment

Disabled persons employed through compulsory employment schemes are granted the same terms of payment and employed under the same statutory regulations as all other workers, in accordance with the laws and collective contracts which regulate the general terms of employment. Moreover, employers must not require disabled persons to perform duties which are inappropriate for their condition.

Private sector and public administration employers must keep work positions open for those workers who were not disabled at the time of being hired but subsequently developed a handicap or form of disability following an accident in the workplace or a work-related illness. In the case of dismissal or redundancy, protective measures are provided for disabled workers who are hired in accordance with compulsory employment rulings.

Competitions held by public administrations

Disabled persons may take part in all public competitions organised by the Italian civil service. For this reason, the organisation of competitions must provide for the possibility of introducing special examination conditions to allow disabled persons to participate in the examination process and have the same opportunities as everyone else.

Other Benefits and Privileges for Integration in the Workplace

Law No 104 of 5 February 1992, and subsequent amendments and additions, contains a number of provisions for the assistance, social integration and rights of disabled persons. Disabled persons are individuals with a form of physical or mental disability or sensory impairment, which is the cause of difficulties in learning and social relations and involves a limited working capacity. Disabilities result in a considerable disadvantage at the level of interpersonal relationships and the risk of marginalisation.

Ascertainment of a disability is performed by local health authorities with the assistance of special medical committees.

In particular, as far as integration into the workplace is concerned, various privileges are provided for: seriously disabled workers may be granted special daily or monthly periods of paid leave; they may also choose, where possible, to work at a site close to their home and must not be transferred to another location without their prior consent; parents of a disabled minor and anyone who takes care of a seriously disabled person who is a close relative has the right to have three days of paid leave every month, the right to choose where he or she would like to work and may not be transferred without his or her consent.

Young People

Protection of young people at work

Council Directive 94/33/EC on the protection of young people at work was implemented in Italian law by Legislative Decree No 345 of 4 August 1999. The Decree lays down various forms of protection for persons under 18 who are working.

Working age

The minimum working age is set at the moment the minor concludes the period of compulsory education and, in any event, the minor must not be less than 15 years of age.

Provision has been made for some limited exceptions (work activities of a cultural, artistic, sporting or promotional nature and within the entertainment industry). In these cases parental consent is always required, as well as specific authorisation from the local job centre (Direzione Provinciale del Lavoro).

Pending general restructuring of the school and education system, compulsory education currently lasts for eight years.

Harmful work

Use of minors for dangerous or harmful work, identified in a special list, is prohibited. These works may only be carried out on the grounds that they are vital for educational or occupational training purposes, only for the time that is strictly necessary and under the supervision of trainers who are also competent in the area of safety at work.

An exception is made for occupational education and training institutions. In these cases, special authorisation is required, issued by the Direzione Provinciale del Lavoro, subject to approval from the local health authority (Azienda Unità Sanitaria Locale (ASL)).

Medical check-ups: prior to being accepted for employment, minors must be deemed to be fit for the work for which they are to be employed, following a medical check-up. The minor's suitability for the work must, in addition, be ascertained by means of periodic medical check-ups, to be performed at intervals of no more than one year. The work provider is responsible for arranging and paying for medical check-ups with a doctor from the National Health Service (Servizio Sanitario Nazionale).

Night work

Using minors for night work is prohibited, apart from some limited exceptions laid down by law.

Weekly break

Minors must be guaranteed a weekly rest period of at least two days, possibly consecutive, and including a Sunday. Once again, some limited exceptions are provided for by law.

Sanctions

Failure to adhere to provisions relating to the protection of minors at work is punishable with both administrative and penal sanctions.

Training requirement

In order to boost cultural and professional development in the young, compulsory attendance at training activities until the age of 18 has been introduced.

Compulsory training applies to minors who have reached 15 years of age and have already completed the mandatory period of schooling. To comply with compulsory training, young people can choose between three options: attending the more advanced section of school and gaining a school-leaving diploma; attending a vocational training course and obtaining a qualification certificate, or entering employment through an apprenticeship which provides for at least 240 annual hours of training outside the firm, and obtaining a skills certificate.

Employment contracts, other than apprenticeships, to which young people subject to the training requirement are party, must, in any event, guarantee the opportunity to attend training activities.

Tools for integration into the employment market

Adolescents (minors aged between 15 and 18 who have completed the period of compulsory education) and young individuals aged between 18 and 25, or up to 29 if they have a university degree), who are unemployed and seeking work, may contact job centres (Centri per l'Impiego) in order to access various back-to-work employment initiatives. Employment services must offer at least one careers advice session within three months of commencement of the period of unemployment and must suggest back-to-work or vocational training initiatives or other measures encouraging integration into the labour market, no later than four months after the period of unemployment commences.

Apprenticeships and integration contracts (contratti di inserimento) are special contracts with a training content which aim to facilitate young people's return to the job market. These contracts were regulated by the recent Law No 30/2003 and subsequent Implementing Decrees.

The new type of apprenticeship will become operational once the relevant regional regulations have been issued and may be of three types. 

The first is apprenticeship for the fulfilment of the right/duty of education and training: this applies to young people and adolescents aged at least 15, may last for no longer than three years and is designed to confer a vocational qualification.

The second type is an apprenticeship with a specialist professional bias targeted at young people between 18 and 29 and aimed at conferring an occupational qualification through on-the-job training and the acquisition of basic, transverse and technical/occupational skills. This apprenticeship may last between two and six years. 

The third is an apprenticeship to obtain a diploma or follow higher education and is targeted at young people between 18 and 29 and is designed to confer a secondary level qualification, university or higher education qualifications.

Companies from all sectors can take on apprentices. The contributions relief given to companies taking on apprentices covers nearly one hundred percent of the national insurance and social security contributions for which the work provider is responsible, but is, however, subject to the actual training given being checked.

The new apprenticeship regulation is not yet operative in so far as we are still awaiting the regulations that the individual local authorities will be obliged to adopt. Thus, at the moment, the previous regulations on apprenticeship continue to apply: young people aged between 15 and 24 who have completed the period of compulsory education may be taken on as apprentices. 

The age limit can be raised to 26 in Areas Eligible for Programmes under Objectives 1 and 2 (Southern Italy (the "Mezzogiorno") and areas with structural difficulties) and up to 29 in craft firms for duties with a highly vocational content. Age limits can be raised by another two years for those with disabilities. 

A company agrees to provide the young apprentice with the training required to become a qualified worker. To this end, the company must appoint a tutor to work alongside the apprentice and pass on the necessary skills. 

Alongside workplace training, the apprentice must attend training courses outside the company, amounting to an average of at least 120 hours a year, or at least 240 hours if the apprentice is a minor. 

The duration of the apprenticeship is fixed by national collective employment contracts and may run from a minimum of 18 months to a maximum of 4 years, extendable to 5 years for craft firms. Companies are given tax incentives

The contratto di inserimento is targeted at young people between 18 and 29 years of age and at other categories demonstrating particular difficulties when it comes to entering the labour market. It lasts for between nine and eighteen months and is not renewable.

Useful Contacts

• Ministero del Lavoro e delle Politiche Sociali, Roma (Ministry of Employment and Social Policy, Rome)
• Uffici per l'inserimento lavorativo delle persone disabili presso le Province (Provincial services for the employment of disabled persons)
• Aziende Unità Sanitarie Locali (Local health authorities)
• Direzioni Provinciali del Lavoro (Local Government Job centres) in all the regional capitals 
• Assessorati al Lavoro e alla Formazione Professionale delle Regioni e delle Province (local government departments of employment and vocational training)
• Centri per l'Impiego (job centres) in all local areas

Source: European Union
© European Communities, 1995-2006
Reproduction is authorised.