Decree-Law no. 146/2021, the "Fiscal Decree", which contains "Urgent measures on economic and fiscal matters to protect labour and for urgent needs", appeared in the Official Gazette on 21 October 2021 and came into force the following day.
Below is a summary of the Decree's main measures concerning COVID social security and safety in the workplace.
COVID social safety nets and redundancies
The Fiscal Decree provides additional weeks of social safety coverage for employers falling under the protections of the Wage Supplementation Fund (FIS), bilateral solidarity funds (Articles 26 and 40 of Legislative Decree 148/2015) and redundancy payments in derogation.
These employers, on the basis of Article 8(2) of Decree-Law 41/2021, already had the possibility to access – in the period from 1 April 2021 to 31 December 2021 – respective treatments for a maximum of 28 weeks in total. An additional 13 weeks have been added, for the period from 1 October (thus retroactively) to 31 December 2021, the assumption being that the 28 weeks already granted have been fully authorised.
The second group of companies covered by the extension of these shock absorbers (for the same period) is identified through the Ateco 13, 14 and 15 codes (classification of economic activities Ateco 2007), which includes textile companies, clothing, leather and fur manufacturers and manufacturers of leather and similar articles. In this case, access takes place at the end of the period of the ordinary redundancy fund (cassa integrazione salariale ordinaria), which was already authorised under Article 50-bis of Law Decree 73/2021, for 1 July 2021 to 31 October 2021.
In both cases, the additional contribution is not due. However, it should be noted that the resources allocated to finance the two measures are limited (EUR 657.9 million and EUR 140.5 million respectively) and therefore may not be sufficient to cover the entire requirement.
On the operational side, the Emergency Wages Guarantee Fund can be granted to workers at the date of entry into force of the Tax and Labour Decree (22 October 2021). Applications must be submitted to the National Social Security Institute by the end of the month following the month in which the period of suspension or reduction of the work activity started. In the first phase, applications can be made until 30 November 2021.
In addition, as in the past, the granting of subsidies is subject to the prohibition of individual dismissal for objective reasons or collective dismissal for the duration of the subsidies.
Exceptions to this general rule are redundancies motivated by the definitive cessation of business activity or definitive cessation related to liquidation; bankruptcy, when the provisional exercise of the enterprise is not foreseen or its cessation is foreseen; the signing of a collective redundancy agreement.
Health and safety in the workplace
The Fiscal Decree also introduces important novelties regarding safety in the workplace.
Article 13 of Law Decree 146/2021 also amends Legislative Decree 81/2008 (the "Consolidated Safety Act"), replacing Art. 14 (Measures of the supervisory bodies to combat irregular work and to protect the health and safety of workers): in order to protect worker health and safety, as well as to combat irregular work, the National Labour Inspectorate must implement a suspension measure when it finds that at least 10% (no longer 20%) of the workers present in a workplace are employed at the time of the inspection without prior notification of the establishment of the employment relationship, as well as, regardless of the sector of intervention, in the event of the following serious violations regarding the protection of health and safety at work:
| CASE | ADDITIONAL AMOUNT |
1 | Failure to draw up a risk assessment document | EUR 2,500 |
2 | Failure to draw up an emergency and evacuation plan | EUR 2,500 |
3 | Failure to provide training | EUR 300 for each employee involved. |
4 | Failure to set up the prevention and protection service and to appoint the person responsible for it | EUR 3,000 |
5 | Failure to draw up an operational safety plan (POS) | EUR 2,500 |
6 | Failure to provide personal protective equipment against falls from a height | EUR 300 for each employee involved. |
7 | Lack of protection against falls | EUR 3,000 |
8 | Failure to apply retaining reinforcement, subject to the requirements of the soil consistency report | EUR 3,000 |
9 | Work near power lines in the absence of appropriate organisational and procedural provisions to protect workers from the resulting risks | EUR 3,000 |
10 | Presence of live bare conductors in the absence of appropriate organisational and procedural provisions to protect workers from the resulting risks | EUR 3,000 |
11 | Lack of protection against direct and indirect contacts (earthing system, circuit breaker, earth leakage circuit breaker) | EUR 3,000 |
12 | Failure to supervise the removal or modification of safety, signaling or control devices | EUR 3,000 |
No further "recidivism" is required for the adoption of the suspension measure, which will therefore be applied immediately in the event of serious infringements of the prevention rules. For the entire period of suspension, the company is prohibited from contracting with the public administration.
The employer who does not comply with the suspension measure referred to in this Article is punished with imprisonment of up to six months in case of suspension for violations in the field of health and safety at work and with imprisonment from three to six months or a fine from EUR 2,500 to 6,400 in case of suspension for irregular work.
In order to resume activities, it is necessary to restore regular working conditions and also to pay an additional sum of an amount that varies according to the violation. The amount is doubled if, in the previous five years, the same enterprise already received a suspension order.
