Practical Information

Entrepreneurship & Employment Law

The status of employees in Italy is less straightforward than in many other countries. A 40 hour work week is the theoretical norm, but a 2005-2006 survey by the nonprofit Institute of Social and Economic Research (Istituto di Ricerche Economiche e Sociali) reported that over 60% of the respondents work more than 40 hours a week. Over 25% reported working more than 45 hours a week. There’s a wide discrepancy in working hours between the private sector, where 73% work overtime, and the public sector, where 55% of employees work 36 hours a week or less. Unsurprisingly, managers and professionals often work longer hours – over half those in private sector put in more than 45 hours a week.

Compensation is based on complex formulas established by collective bargaining between employers and unions and made law by the state. Pay is codified based on the category into which the worker falls, taking into consideration geographical area, sex, type of industry, and other factors. Such formulas, published in books called tabelle professionali, sometimes dictate overtime pay regardless of how much time the person actually works. Employers in Italy pay all social security benefits and bonuses, and job security and pay have more to do with protection by labor laws than performance. Most employees in Italy receive an extra month’s salary at Christmas, and many employees also receive a fourteenth month’s salary prior to the summer holiday period, when most employees get four to six weeks off. The system is rigid and labor strikes are common. The Italian Ministry of Labor, Health, and Social Welfare (Ministero del Lavoro e Previdenza Sociale) deals with labor issues.