INPS has issued the initial operational instructions concerning the full exemption from the payment of social security contribution in favour of employers who, during the period from 1 January 2026 to 31 December 2026, recruit, under an open-ended contract of employment, including on a part-time basis, persons not older than 35 years of age and belonging, alternatively, to one of the following categories:
– very disadvantaged workers, in that they have not had regularly paid employment for at least 24 months (art. 1, no. 2), letter a), of the Ministerial Decree of 17 October 2017);
– disadvantaged workers, namely persons who have not had regularly paid employment for at least 12 months and who: i) have not attained an upper secondary school or vocational qualification, or have completed full-time education no more than two years previously and have not yet obtained their first regularly paid employment; ii) are adults living alone with one or more dependants; iii) are employed in sectors characterised by a gender imbalance rate exceeding the average national gender imbalance by 25%; v) belong to an ethnic minority (art. 2, para. 4, letters c), e), f) and g), of Regulation (EU) No. 651/2014).
The incentive is granted for a maximum period of:
– at least 24 months;
– at least 12 months, where the worker belongs to one of the categories of ‘disadvantaged worker’ (art. 2, para. 4, letters a) to c) and e) to g), of Regulation (EU) No. 651/2014).
The maximum monthly amount of the exemption, which applies solely to the employer’s share of compulsory social security contributions, is EUR 500.00, increased to EUR 650.00 where the recruitment concerns a young worker assigned to an office or production unit established in one of the following Regions: Abruzzo, Molise, Campania, Basilicata, Sicily, Apulia, Calabria and Sardinia.
Without prejudice to compliance with the general principles governing the use of incentives (art. 31 of Legislative Decree No. 150/2015) and with the conditions laid down by art. 1, para. 1175, of Law No. 296/2006, the employer may access the exemption in question provided that it:
– has not carried out, with reference to the same production unit, dismissals on objective justified grounds or collective redundancies in the six months preceding the recruitment;
– pays employees ‘fair’ wages, defined as individual remuneration not lower than the overall remuneration provided for by the NCBAs entered into by the trade union organisations that are comparatively most representative at national level;
– does not fall within the category of entities that have received individual aid subsequently found by the European Commission to be unlawful or incompatible, and have not repaid such aid or paid it into a blocked account;
– is not an ‘undertaking in difficulty’ (art. 2, point 18, of Regulation (EU) No. 651/2014);
– ensures, through the recruitment, a net increase in headcount calculated on the basis of the difference between the number of workers employed in each month and the average number of workers employed during the preceding 12 months. With regard to employees engaged under a part-time employment relationship, the calculation is weighted on the basis of the ratio between the number of hours agreed in the contract and the number of hours constituting normal working time for full-time employees. For the purposes of calculating the increase in employment, any reductions in the number of employees occurring in subsidiaries or associated companies (art. 2359 of Codice Civile) or in companies controlled, including through an intermediary, by the same person or entity are expressly excluded.
We remain available for any further clarification.