Citizens will be called to the polls to vote in four abrogative referendums on labour law.

The firm is closely following the matter, questioning the appropriateness of the instrument, given the complexity of the subject.

The referendums were promoted by trade unions and associations that were found admissible by the Constitutional Court and for which more than four million signatures were collected.

Here, in detail, are the questions and a summary of what the questions will involve:

1. Stop illegitimate dismissals: the text of the first question and what it provides for

‘Do you want the repeal of Legislative Decree No. 23 of 4 March 2015, containing ‘Provisions on open-ended employment contracts with increasing protections, implementing Law No. 183 of 10 December 2014’ in its entirety?’

The first of the four labour referendums concerns the repeal of the provisions on dismissals under the contract with increasing protections introduced by the Jobs Act. In companies with more than 15 employees, workers hired on or after 7 March 2015 do not have the possibility to be reinstated in their jobs after a dismissal deemed unlawful. The legislation prevents reinstatement even if the judge determines that the dismissal is unjustified and unfounded.

2. Protection for workers in small enterprises

‘Do you wish the repeal of Article 8 of Law No 604 of 15 July 1966 laying down “Rules on individual dismissals”, as replaced by Article 2(3) of Law No 108 of 11 May 1990, limited to the words: “between one”, the words “and a maximum of six” and the words “The maximum amount of the said compensation may be increased by up to six”? 108, limited to the words: ‘between one’, the words ‘and a maximum of 6’ and the words ‘The maximum amount of the aforementioned indemnity may be increased up to 10 months’ salary for an employee who has been employed for more than 10 years and up to 14 months‘ salary for an employee who has been employed for more than 20 years, if employed by an employer who employs more than 15 workers’?’

The second labour referendum question proposes the abolition of the limit on compensation for redundancies in small companies. In companies with less than 16 employees, in the case of unlawful dismissal, the employee can currently receive a maximum compensation of six months’ salary, even if the judge considers the termination of employment to be unfounded.

3. Fixed-term contracts

‘Do you want the repeal of Article 19 of Legislative Decree No 81 of 15 June 2015 on ‘Organic regulation of employment contracts and revision of the regulations on tasks, pursuant to Article 1, paragraph 7, of Law No 183 of 10 December 2014’, paragraph 1, limited to the words ‘not exceeding twelve months. The contract may have a longer duration, but in any case’, to the words “in the presence of at least one of the following conditions”, to the words “in the absence of the provisions referred to in subparagraph a), in the collective agreements applied in the company, and in any case by 31 December 2025, for needs of a technical, organisational and productive nature identified by the parties;” and to the words “bis)”; paragraph 1 -bis , limited to the words ‘lasting more than twelve months’ and to the words ‘from the date on which the twelve-month term is exceeded’; paragraph 4, limited to the words ‘, in the event of renewal,’ and to the words ‘only when the overall term exceeds twelve months’; Article 21, paragraph 01, limited to the words ‘freely in the first twelve months and, thereafter,? ’

The third labour referendum question proposes the abolition of certain provisions concerning the use of fixed-term contracts. Currently, it is possible to enter into fixed-term contracts for a maximum of 12 months without the obligation to indicate a reason justifying the temporary nature of the employment relationship.

4. Safety at work

‘Do you wish the repeal of Article 26, paragraph 4, of Legislative Decree No. 81 of 9 April 2008, on ‘Implementation of Article 1 of Law No. 123 of 3 August 2007 on the protection of health and safety in the workplace’ as amended by Article 16 of Legislative Decree No. 106 of 3 August 2009, by Article 32 of Decree-Law No. 69, converted with amendments by Law No. 98 of 9 August 2013, as well as by Article 13 of Decree-Law No. 146 of 21 October 2021, converted with amendments by Law No. 215 of 17 December 2021, limited to the words ‘The provisions of this paragraph shall not apply to damages resulting from the specific risks peculiar to the activity of contractors or subcontractors.’?’

The fourth and final labour referendum question deals with health and safety at work. The current rules, in fact, prevent in the case of accidents in contracts from extending liability to the contracting company. The question seeks, in fact, to extend the aforementioned liability to the contracting contractor.

The firm remains at your disposal for any clarifications.