By Ministerial Decree of 11 April 2025, the Ministry of Labour and Social Policies, in agreement with the Ministry of Economy, laid down the criteria and implementing procedures for the use of:
- the full exemption from the payment of INPS contributions due by the employer in the case of the hiring, with a permanent contract, of young workers under art. 22 of Decree-Law No. 60/2024, converted with amendments by Law No. 95 of 4 July 2024,
- the full exemption from the payment of INPS contributions due by the employer in the case of the hiring, with a permanent contract, of women without a regularly paid job.
Without indulging in the technical details and operational steps of the online procedure necessary to apply for these benefits, the main relevant regulations are described here below.
Hiring of young workers under 35 years of age
Art. 22 of Decree-Law No. 60/2024 provides for a full exemption from the payment of social security contributions due by the employer for a maximum period of 24 months where the employer hires a worker who:
- is under 35 years of age,
- has never previously held a permanent employment contract,
- already employed on an open-ended basis by another employer who has partially benefited from the same exemption, is hired under an open-ended contract by a new employer who will benefit from the exemption for the remaining period.
The exemption applies both in the case of new hires with a permanent employment contract and upon conversion of a fixed-term contract into a permanent one.
The employer is also entitled to the benefit if they enter into a permanent employment contract with a worker who was previously employed under an apprenticeship contract and was not confirmed in service at the end of the apprenticeship period.
The benefit applies where the hiring — or confirmation — occurs between 1 September 2024 and 31 December 2025.
Differently from what is established by the law introducing the exemption, the implementing regulations provide that the contribution exemption relating to the hiring or conversion of a worker on an open-ended basis at a production unit located in the Regions of Abruzzo, Molise, Campania, Basilicata, Sicily, Apulia, Calabria, and Sardinia may only be used for hirings carried out between 31 January 2025 — the date on which the EU Commission authorised the measure — and 31 December 2025.
The exemption does not apply in the case of:
- a permanent employment contract with a worker having Dirigente (executive) status,
- apprenticeship contracts,
- domestic work contracts,
- permanent contracts entered into before submitting the relevant online application.
The implementing decree clarifies that the benefit in question cannot be used where the employer:
- meets any of the financial conditions under which a company is considered to be in difficulty, as defined in art. 2(18) of Regulation (EU) No. 651/2014,
- has received and not reimbursed or paid into a blocked account any unlawful State aid subject to recovery under a European Commission decision (art. 16 of Regulation (EU) No. 1589/2015).
The exemption may be used for a maximum of 24 months and amounts to a monthly maximum of EUR 500 per worker hired or converted.
The monthly exemption limit is increased to EUR 650 where the permanent hiring involves a worker assigned to a production unit located in one of the following Regions: Abruzzo, Molise, Campania, Basilicata, Sicily, Apulia, Calabria, and Sardinia.
Without prejudice to these limits, the benefit may not in any case exceed 50% of labour costs, meaning the total amount actually payable by the employer, including gross salary before tax and mandatory social security and welfare contributions (art. 2(31) of Regulation (EU) No. 651/2014).
The exemption is available to employers who:
- have not carried out individual dismissals for objective reasons or collective redundancies during the six months preceding the hiring at the production unit where the young worker will be employed,
- hold a valid DURC certificate and are not in breach of i) labour and social legislation, ii) the rules on working conditions and health and safety at work, or other legal obligations or those arising from collective agreements signed by the comparatively most representative employer and trade union organisations at national level (art. 1(1175) and (1176) of Law No. 296/2006),
- comply with the general principles for the use of incentives (art. 31 of Legislative Decree No. 150/2015),
- comply with the procedures, territorial restrictions and eligibility criteria established under the National Programme for Youth, Women and Work 2021–2027 aimed at promoting the employment of young people, women and people in vulnerable situations,
- act within the authorised expenditure limits set out in art. 22(7) of Decree-Law No. 60/2024, namely EUR 458.3 million for 2025, EUR 682.5 million for 2026 and EUR 254.1 million for 2027.
The benefit is not cumulative with other contribution exemptions, except for the increased labour cost deductible under art. 4 of Legislative Decree No. 216/2023 in the case of new hires on an open-ended basis.
The exemption is revoked, and the benefit must be repaid, where the worker is dismissed for objective reasons within six months of being hired. The same applies where another worker with the same job title as the subsidised worker and employed at the same production unit is dismissed for objective reasons.
Hiring of women
Art. 23 of Decree-Law No. 60/2024 provides for a full exemption from the payment of social security contributions due by the employer in the event of hiring women who have not held a regularly paid job for at least 24 months, regardless of place of residence.
The exemption applies to both open-ended hiring and to the conversion of a fixed-term contract into an open-ended one.
It applies to hires — or conversions — made between 1 September 2024 and 31 December 2025.
However, under the implementing provisions, the exemption in the case of hiring — or conversion — of women into open-ended employment at production units located in the Regions of Abruzzo, Molise, Campania, Basilicata, Sicily, Apulia, Calabria, and Sardinia may only be used if:
- the woman has been without a regularly paid job for at least six months,
- the hiring or conversion takes place between 31 January 2025 (the date on which the European Commission authorised the measure) and 31 December 2025.
The exemption does not apply in the case of:
- permanent contracts for workers having Dirigente (executive) status,
- apprenticeship contracts,
- domestic work,
- permanent contracts entered into before submitting the relevant online application.
The benefit is precluded where the employer:
- meets any of the financial conditions under which a company is considered to be in difficulty (art. 2(18) of Regulation (EU) No. 651/2014),
- has received and not reimbursed or placed into a blocked account any unlawful State aid that is subject to recovery under a European Commission decision (art. 16 of Regulation (EU) No. 1589/2015).
As noted, the exemption applies for a maximum of 24 months. However, the Ministry indicates that this duration is reduced to 12 months where the hiring concerns women employed in occupations or sectors with a gender gap of at least 25% above the average gender gap in all economic sectors (art. 2(4)(f) of Regulation (EU) No. 651/2014).
The exemption amounts to a maximum of EUR 650 per month per woman hired or converted. In no case may the benefit exceed 50% of labour costs, i.e. the total amount actually payable by the employer, including gross salary before tax and mandatory social security and welfare contributions (art. 2(31) of Regulation (EU) No. 651/2014).
The exemption is available to employers who:
- have not carried out individual dismissals for objective reasons or collective redundancies during the six months preceding the hiring at the production unit where the woman is to be employed,
- hold a valid DURC certificate and are not in breach of i) labour and social legislation, ii) the rules on working conditions and health and safety at work, or other legal obligations or those arising from collective agreements signed by the comparatively most representative employer and trade union organisations at national level (art. 1(1175) and (1176) of Law No. 296/2006),
- comply with the general principles for the use of incentives (art. 31 of Legislative Decree No. 150/2015),
- comply with the procedures, territorial restrictions and eligibility criteria established under the National Programme for Youth, Women and Work 2021–2027 aimed at promoting the employment of young people, women and people in vulnerable situations,
- act within the authorised expenditure limits set out in art. 23(4) of Decree-Law No. 60/2024 (EUR 107.3 million for 2025, EUR 208.2 million for 2026 and EUR 115.7 million for 2027).
The benefit is not cumulative with other contribution exemptions, except for the increased labour cost deductible under art. 4 of Legislative Decree No. 216/2023 in the case of new hires on an open-ended basis.
The exemption will be revoked and the benefit repaid if the worker is dismissed for objective reasons within six months of being hired. The same applies where another worker with the same job title as the subsidised worker and employed at the same production unit is dismissed for objective reasons. Any revocation has no effect on any residual period of exemption already used by another employer.
We remain available for any further clarification.