By messages Nos. 1966, 1968 and 1970 of 2026, INPS provides operational guidance on the use of the incentives introduced by the so-called ‘Decreto Lavoro’ (arts. 1, 2 and 3 of Decree-Law No. 62/2026) for new hires in 2026 of i) young workers, ii) ‘disadvantaged’ women or iii) workers assigned to production units established in the single Special Economic Zone for Southern Italy (ZES).
Without prejudice to the clarifications already issued by the Institute on the scope of application and the access conditions for the above measures (INPS, circular messages Nos. 55, 56 and 57 of 2026), through the messages in question INPS indicates, for each relief measure:
– the methods for reporting in the UniEmens data flow the data relating to the use of the contribution exemption, including with reference to previous months from January 2026,
– the date from which the application for access to the measure may be submitted.
Youth Bonus 2026
The employer authorised to benefit from the full exemption from its share of social contribution, up to a monthly limit of EUR 500.00, for the recruitment under a permanent employment contract of young persons under the age of 35 who are i) without employment for at least 24 months, ii) without employment for at least 12 months and belonging to one of the categories of ‘disadvantaged worker’ (art. 2, letters c), e), f) and g), of Regulation (EU) No. 651/2014), or iii) belonging to one of the categories of ‘disadvantaged worker’ (art. 2, letters a) to c) and e) to g), of Regulation (EU) No. 651/2014), is required, from the pay period of July 2026, to enter the new code ‘EG26’, meaning ‘Youth 2026 contribution exemption – article 2, paragraph 1, Decree-Law No. 62 of 30 April 2026’, in the InfoAggcausaliContrib element of the PosContributiva section.
Where the employer uses the relief for new hires carried out from January 2026, the aforementioned element must be entered again for all months in arrears, while the AnnoMeseRif element, with reference to previous months, from January 2026 until the month preceding the reporting of the current month, must be entered only in the UniEmens flows relating to July 2026, August 2026 and September 2026.
Where the employer recruits the young worker for an office or production unit located in one of the ZES regions, the causal code to be entered in the UniEmens flow is ‘EGZS’, meaning ‘Youth 2026 contribution exemption – article 2, paragraph 3, Decree-Law No. 62 of 30 April 2026’.
Women’s Bonus 2026
With reference to the full exemption from the payment of social contribution, up to a monthly limit of EUR 650.00, for the recruitment under a permanent employment contract of employment of:
– women who have not had regularly paid employment for at least 24 months, wherever resident;
– women who have not had regularly paid employment for at least 12 months and belong to one of the categories of ‘disadvantaged worker’ (art. 2, letters b) to g), of Regulation (EU) No. 651/2014);
– women belonging to one of the categories of ‘disadvantaged worker’ (art. 2, letters a) to g), of Regulation (EU) No. 651/2014),
the employer is required, from the pay period of July 2026, to enter in the above specific element of the UniEmens flow the new code ‘ED26’, meaning ‘Women 2026 contribution exemption – article 1, paragraph 1, Decree-Law No. 62 of 30 April 2026’. Where the recruitment concerns women resident in one of the ZES regions, the code to be entered is ‘EDZS’, meaning ‘Women 2026 contribution exemption – article 1, paragraph 2, Decree-Law No. 62 of 30 April 2026’.
The above INPS instructions concerning the completion of the UniEmens flow for recruitments made in the period from January 2026 until the month preceding the reporting of the current month also apply with reference to the relief due for the recruitment of disadvantaged women.
ZES Bonus 2026
Employers established in one of the regions of the single Special Economic Zone for Southern Italy (ZES) and employing up to 10 workers are entitled to benefit from a full exemption from payment of their share of social contribution in respect of the recruitment, carried out in 2026, of workers who are at least 35 years of age and have been unemployed for no less than 24 months (art. 3 of Decree-Law No. 62/2026).
Without prejudice to the above clarifications concerning the methods for reporting data for previous months, it is provided that the causal code to be entered in the relevant section of the UniEmens flow is ‘EZE1’, meaning ‘ZES 2026 contribution exemption – article 3, Decree-Law No. 62 of 30 April 2026’.
Submission of applications
With reference to the use of each of the above incentive measures, INPS states that, from 11 June 2026, the employer may submit a specific electronic application by accessing the Institute’s institutional website using its digital identity (SPID of at least level 2, CIE level 3 or CNS) and completing the relevant online application form available in the section named ‘Benefits Portal (formerly DiResCo)’.
We remain available for any further clarification.