Government measures in key jurisdictions 5th edition - Flipbook - Page 76
Italy
•
Employment
What financial
support is the
government
providing to
businesses and
to individuals
on employment
issues?
For the avoidance of doubt, the SACE’s guarantee is not available to companies which
directly or indirectly control (or are controlled by), pursuant to Article 2359 of the Italian
Civil Code, a company resident in a country or territory that is not cooperative for tax
purposes (as identified in the conclusions of the Council of European Union dated 18
February 2020). Companies with “deteriorated” debt exposures, or “in difficulty” cannot
benefit from this scheme.
Loan repayment suspension: SMEs may postpone payment of principal and interest
on any loans. Revocable credit lines and factoring facilities cannot be revoked until 30
June 2021 if the SME sends relevant notice to creditors. As to the applicability criteria,
the same criteria as per the CSGF paragraph above will apply.
The Italian Government introduced the following schemes to support businesses:
•
A. Social programs: if an employer must suspend employees from work since
the business activity is suspended or reduced due to the Covid-19 emergency, it can
apply for the following social funds (wage subsidy schemes):
1.Cassa Integrazione Guadagni Ordinaria (CIGO): available to industrial companies
staffed with more than 15 employees.
2.Fondo d’Integrazione Salariale (FIS): available to non-industrial employers
enrolled with FIS that are staffed, as an average, with more than 5 employees.
3.Cassa Integrazione Guadagni in deroga (CIGD): available to all businesses, even very
small ones, that are not covered by CIGO/FIS.
Under the above schemes, which normally imply a consultation with the Trade Unions
before being implemented, employees who are suspended from work receive an allowance
from the social security authority (“INPS”) equal to 80% of the lost salary with a cap of
Ä1,129 net per month. These schemes initially covered a period of 18 weeks until 12 July
2020, were then repeatedly extended and are currently expected to last until 30 June 2021
(31 March 2021 for the CIGO).
As an alternative to the use of the above schemes, an exemption from social security
contribution obligations has been introduced in favour of employers that have previously
used social plans. So employers that used social plans in May/June 2020 but did not apply
for social plans in the period from January to March/June 2021 may request this exemption
for 2 months.
In parallel with this new range of Covid-19 related social plans, the Italian Government
introduced a firing ban which was initially intended to last until 17 August 2020. The ban
regards both collective and individual dismissals for redundancy reasons (some
categories are excluded, such as executives or domestic employees, and disciplinary
dismissals remain of course feasible).
This ban has been repeatedly extended and is currently expected to last until 31 March
2021 with a few exceptions. Indeed, dismissals are now allowed for (i) companies ceasing
their business activity and put under a liquidation procedure; (ii) companies which went
bankrupt; and (iii) companies which enter into a collective agreement with trade unions
providing for the payment of an incentive to leave to those redundant employees who
accept to mutually terminate their employment relationship. The possible extension of
the ban after 31 March 2021, maybe on a partial and more selected basis, is currently
under discussion.
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Government measures in key jurisdictions
