If you plan to hire staff you must sign individual employment contracts with your employees.
The employment contract is an agreement by which:
• the worker undertakes to work for the employer;
• the employer undertakes to pay the worker an amount of money called remuneration.
The parties have limited leeway in setting out the terms and conditions of employment because they are bound by the law and by the rules of the collective bargaining agreements signed by trade unions and employers' associations.
As a rule, the individual employment contract can only contain more favourable terms for the worker compared to those set out in the collective bargaining agreements.
The form of the employment contract is free: it does not need to be written down and may consist in a verbal agreement. However, usually a labour consultant will prepare a written contract or letter of appointment which the worker countersigns.
For specific employment contracts or clauses (e.g. the hiring of apprentices or establishment of a probationary period) the contract must always be written down, otherwise it is null.
To ensure you hire the right person, you can establish an initial probationary period lasting not more than 6 months. During this time, either the employer or the worker may terminate the contract at any time, without needing to give notice or pay compensation. To be valid, the probationary period must be arranged in writing and must be signed by both parties.
Before the start of employment, you need to do the following:
- check that the worker meets the requirements for the job
- comply with certain preliminary rules at the time of hiring.
The requirements to be met by the worker
To be hired by your business, a worker must meet certain minimum requirements which are compulsory by law.
The first requirement is for the worker to have legal capacity to take on rights and obligations. This involves different aspects according to whether the worker is self-employed or an employee:
- for the self-employed worker legal capacity is acquired at birth in the event of natural person, or with the acquisition of legal personality in the case of a legal person (e.g. companies, entities, institutions);
- for employed workers a minimum age is required (16 years or 15 in particular cases); any employment contract below this age is invalid, but the worker is entitled to pay for work already done.
The second requirement is capacity to act, i.e. the ability to perform actions changing one's legal situation. This capacity is acquired at a certain age and may be suspended or limited in certain cases. This capacity is acquired at different times by self-employed workers and employees:
- at age 18 by self-employed workersin order to set up a one-person business or a partnership or company;
- at age 16 by employees(except for special cases)after completing compulsory schooling. This is a requirement for signing the employment contract and being able to take on a job.
For workers only, other specific suitability requirements apply:
- mental and physical fitness to perform certain duties;
- technical-professional qualifications required for the specific position, to ensure the safety of the worker and third parties (examples: membership of a professional body, degree or other educational qualification).
If the worker does not meet the above essential requirements, the employment contract is declared invalid. However, the worker is entitled to the salary and any ancillary payments for any work already done.
Preliminary rules for starting employment
There are no particular requirements for starting an employment contract, other than those set out in the general legislation.
An exception is made for hiring subject to preliminary authorisation by administrative bodies such as the Ministry of Labour or the Immigration Office (Sportello Immigrazione). Examples are the hiring of non-EU citizens or the deployment of personnel abroad.
Certain prior requirements must always be fulfilled at the time of hiring.
Pre-hiring medical visit:the rules on workplace health and safety (Article 38 et seq. of Legislative Decree No 81\2008) state that in those industries subject to mandatory health surveillance, the employer must appoint an occupational doctor to carry out preliminary health examination to ensure that workers are fit to perform specific duties;
The following employment contracts must be written down:
- fixed-term contracts
- apprenticeship contracts
- part-time contracts
- probationary periods.
The worker must be informed in writing of the following contractual terms and conditions:
- details of the parties to the contact
- place where the work is to be carried out or, alternatively, the employer's premises
- date of start of employment
- duration of the employment relationship
- duration of the probationary period
- employment category, level or qualification, or list of duties
- amount of the salary and its components
- leave entitlements
- working time
- notice period in the event of termination.
For all general information, the contract must refer to the relevant national collective bargaining agreement.
Mandatory notification of hiring: this must be done by 24 hours before the worker takes up his duties or enters the workplace. The notification must be sent online to the competent Labour Services Centre for all types of subordinate employment and quasi-subordinate employment (such as project-based collaboration) and for on-the-job training. Exceptions are granted when sudden production needs arise or in the event of natural disasters.