Newsletter April 2026

Tax regime for “Inpatriates” – Cumulative application with other favourable tax regimes 

With Decree-Law no. 38/2026, containing “Urgent tax and economic provisions” and published in Gazzetta Ufficiale issue no. 72 of 27 March 2026, a new framework has been introduced regarding the compatibility of the special tax regime for “inpatriates” under art. 5 of Legislative Decree no. 209/2023 with other tax regimes aimed at facilitating the transfer of tax residence to Italy pursuant to art. 2(2) of TUIR. 

Notably, by amending art. 1(154) of Law no. 232/2016, art. 2 of the decree provides that, for workers transferring their tax residence to Italy in the tax period in progress on 1 January 2027 or in subsequent tax periods, the above-mentioned special regime is not compatible with the optional substitute tax regime provided for by art. 24-bis of TUIR. 

Under this regime, individuals transferring their tax residence to Italy may opt to subject foreign-source income to a flat substitute tax amounting to EUR 200,000 for each tax period, provided that they have not been tax resident in Italy for at least 9 tax periods during the 10 preceding the beginning of the option period. 

Performance-related bonus: recent legislative developments and potential implications 

In recent years, employers have frequently (and often on a recurring basis) made use of the “performance-related bonus” as an incentive-based remuneration tool which allows, on the one hand, employees to benefit from tax and social security advantages and, on the other hand, a corresponding reduction in the overall cost borne by the employer. 

With the specific aim of further encouraging the conclusion of agreements introducing such bonuses, the legislator, through the 2026 Budget Law, has made this instrument even more “attractive” from a tax perspective by reducing the applicable substitute tax and significantly increasing the amount eligible for preferential treatment. 

In the author’s view, however, in the current socio-economic context these measures may lead – compared to previous years – to an increase in costs for employers. This is because they may discourage, at least in part if not entirely, employees from converting such bonuses into welfare benefits. 

New “mothers bonus” relief measure – Release of the functionality to request a review of applications 

With message no. 1187/2026, INPS announced the release of the “Request review” (“Chiedi riesame”) function within its online application, allowing employees to request a review of applications submitted for the so-called new “mothers bonus”. 

Specifically, this function enables users to correct data in the event of errors, add new employment relationships, as well as modify, view or delete those previously entered, exclusively with reference to the months indicated in the application for which the bonus request was not granted. 

Strenuous work – Instructions for submitting applications 

With message no. 1188/2026, INPS provides instructions for the submission, by 1 May 2026, of applications for the recognition of particularly strenuous and demanding work, for the purposes of accessing early retirement as from 1 January 2027. 

Bridging to retirement – Effects of life expectancy adjustments 

With circular message no. 41/2026, INPS clarified on the effects of life expectancy adjustments for the 2027–2028 period on measures supporting the transition to retirement (extraordinary allowance from solidarity funds, isopensione retirement incentive, expansion contracts and early retirement). 

Extension of the incentive for waiving early retirement – INPS instructions 

With circular message no. 42/2026, INPS has set out the social security obligations and administrative guidance relating to the management of the incentive available to employees who, having met by 31 December 2026 the minimum requirements for access to: 

a) flexible early retirement underQuota 103(art. 14.1 of Decree-Law no. 4/2019, converted, with amendments, into Law no. 26/2019). In this regard, it should be noted that the eligibility requirements for this form of early retirement must have been met by 31 December 2025, as the measure no longer applies from 1 January 2026; 

or 

b) early retirementpursuant to 24(10) of Decree-Law no. 201/2011, converted, with amendments, into Law no. 214/2011, under which access to the pension is granted to male employees with at least 42 years and 10 months of contributions and female employees with at least 41 years and 10 months of contributions, 

choose to waive the crediting of the portion of compulsory social security contributions borne by them, thereby removing the employer’s obligation to pay that portion of the contributions calculated on the remuneration due from the first available retirement date. 

Data Protection Authority safeguards – without time limit – the rights of access and erasure of data of former employees 

With Decision no. 121 of 26 February 2026, the Data Protection Authority imposed an administrative fine on a company for failing to respond to requests made by a former employee who, following the termination of her employment relationship, had requested i) access to information relating to the employment relationship and ii) the deletion of her personal data from the company’s website. 

ISTAT – Consumer price index for March 2026 

On 16 April 2026, ISTAT announced the consumer price index relating to March 2026, equal to 101.5 points. This index is used to determine the revaluation coefficients applicable to severance pay (TFR) and employment-related credits. 

Where the employer pays the employee an advance portion of the TFR before termination of the employment relationship, the revaluation rate applies to the entire accrued amount up to the payroll period in which the advance is paid. For the remaining payroll periods of the relevant year, the same rate applies only to the portion remaining available to the employer, net of the amount paid in advance. 

Lastly, it should be noted that the portion of TFR paid by employees into supplementary pension funds is not subject to revaluation. 

INPS allowance for sick leave, maternity and tuberculosis: minimum remuneration thresholds for 2026 

With circular message no. 47/2026, INPS sets out the minimum daily remuneration thresholds and the amounts to be taken into account for the calculation of sickness, maternity/paternity and tuberculosis cash benefits for the year 2026, with specific reference to: 

• worker-members of companies and cooperative entities, including de facto cooperatives, 
• fixed-term agricultural workers, 
• family sharecroppers and small tenant farmers, 
• domestic and household workers, including foreign workers, 
• self-employed workers, 
• workers enrolled with the INPS separate management scheme (‘Gestione Separata’) pursuant to Law no. 335/1995. 

Hiring to replace employees on leave – Guidance on extension of the fixed-term contract

Current legislation protecting and supporting maternity and paternity grants employers the right to hire, including through agency work arrangements, employees under fixed-term contracts to replace employees on maternity, paternity or parental leave, including up to one month prior to the beginning of such leave (art. 4, paras. 1 and 2 of Legislative Decree no. 151/2001). 

Pursuant to art. 1(221) of Law no. 199/2025, with effect from 1 January 2026 the duration of the fixed-term employment contract may also be extended after the return to work of the replaced employee, for an additional handover and training period not exceeding the child’s first year of age (art. 4, para. 2-bis of Legislative Decree no. 151/2001 and INPS, message no. 1343/2026). 

Tax regime for ‘inpatriates’ also applicable to employees working remotely from Italy 

Health and safety protection – Guidance from the National Labour Inspectorate

With note no. 780/2026, the National Labour Inspectorate (INL) has provided its first guidance concerning the amendments introduced by Law no. 34/2026 (Annual SMEs Law) in the field of health and safety at work. 

The INL’s intervention is limited to confirming the provisions set out by the legislation, particularly with reference to: 

• the obligation to provide health and safety training also to employees placed under subsidised furlough schemes; and 
• the employer’s obligation to provide employees working under smart working arrangements with a specific written notice regarding health and safety risks. 

JUS – The Case Law Review Journal 

In this April issue of JUS, the focus will be on:
a) exceptions to the principle of non-reducibility of remuneration through an agreement executed in a protected venue, 

b)lack ofjurisdiction of the court regarding the disavowal of a medical certificate, 

c) admissibility of dismissalon the basis ofa WhatsApp message, 

d)Data Protection Authority and employer’s obligation to provide former employees with all emails relating to the employment relationship.

Incorrect calculation of the protected sick leave period – Dismissal null and void with full compensatory protection  

Where the employer dismisses an employee for absences due to illness or injury without the protected sick leave period established by the applicable NCBA having been exceeded, such dismissal is null and void for breach of art. 2110(2) of Codice Civile. 

In such circumstances, the employee is entitled to full reinstatement and compensatory protection, with damages calculated by reference to the entire period between the dismissal and reinstatement (Cass. 31 March 2026 no. 7969). 

Reasonable accommodations also for caregivers 

Failure to adopt reasonable accommodations in favour of an employee caring for a disabled family member constitutes indirect discrimination, particularly where the employer limits itself to temporary rather than stable solutions despite the existence of long-term care needs (Cass. 10 April 2026 no. 9104). 

The Court reached this conclusion following the interpretative intervention of the CJEU which, having been asked to rule on the matter, extended anti-discrimination protection also to cases of indirect discrimination and to the related organisational obligations (CJEU 11 September 2025, case C-38/24). 

Health and safety at work: legal definition of employer 

Regarding the legal definition of employer in relation to health and safety obligations, the criminal section of Corte di Cassazione reaffirmed that “for the purposes of prevention, the employer is the person who, by virtue of having decision-making and spending powers, is responsible for the organisation or the production unit”. 

Accordingly, in the case of a company with three managing directors entrusted with different roles, but all vested with decision-making and spending powers, all three directors are deemed to hold a position of guarantee as employers for health and safety purposes, regardless of the fact that only one of them signed the risk assessment document (Corte di Cassazione, criminal section, 25 February 2026, no. 7563). 

Communication of absence via WhatsApp deemed lawful  

The court upheld the claim brought by an employee who had challenged a disciplinary sanction imposed for unjustified absence. In particular, the employee’s evidence showing that she had notified her absence via WhatsApp to the substitute of her direct supervisor was deemed valid (Tribunale di Udine 13 April 2026 no. 167). 

Such messages were considered capable “of giving rise in the employee to the blameless belief that her conduct was lawful.” 

Tax regimes for “inpatriates”: recent judicial and administrative developments

By Daniela Ghislandi, Luca Barbieri and Matteo Raglio 

AG addressed the topic “Tax regimes for ‘inpatriates’: recent judicial and administrative developments” in the supplement published in Diritto & Pratica del Lavoro, edited by Wolters Kluwer and authored by Daniela Ghislandi, Luca Barbieri and Matteo Raglio. 

The article highlights the critical issues arising from i) the conflict between the most recent case law developments and the positions expressed by the tax authorities, ii) the numerous interpretative uncertainties surrounding the subjective requirements for the application of the special tax regime, and iii) the not always straightforward identification of the income falling within the scope of the favourable regime. 

A further, and by no means negligible, element of complexity concerns the management and administrative aspects resulting from the coexistence of different legal frameworks that have succeeded one another over time. 

Health and cybersecurity: prevention in AI governance

By Luca Barbieri 

AG addressed the topic “Health and cybersecurity: prevention in AI governance” in the article published in NT+Lavoro, edited by Il Sole 24 Ore and authored by Luca Barbieri. 

The article identifies a number of intersections between the AI Act, the Cyber Resilience Act, NIS 2 and the current provisions governing health and safety in the workplace, highlighting certain critical aspects of the current and highly articulated regulatory framework. 

In light of the health and safety risks to which employees may be exposed where a deployer-employer adopts a high-risk AI system, can the postponement until 2 December 2027 of the application of certain provisions of the AI Act be invoked? Or should it instead already be considered unavoidable to integrate AI system impact assessments with health and safety risk assessments (DVR and DUVRI), coordinating within a coherent management system the human oversight function with the policies and measures adopted in the field of cybersecurity? 

CONTRACTUAL DEADLINES

ADMINISTRATIVE DEADLINES 

NORMATIVE DEADLINES 

Webinar Spot On – Fair wages and collective bargaining – The new developments introduced by the “Decreto Lavoro”

Wednesday, 20 May 2026, from 14:30 to 15:00

The webinar outlines the most significant developments introduced by Decree-Law no. 62/2026 (“Decreto Lavoro”) concerning remuneration and “fair wages”, as determined by the comparatively most representative collective agreements at national level, with particular focus on:

• the role of collective bargaining in shaping company remuneration policies, also in light of the most recent case law developments,
• the tax relief measures connected with industrial and trade union relations activities,
• the new institutional tools for monitoring and analysing remuneration data.

In light of the most recent legislative developments, most recently introduced through the Labour Decree, the webinar aims to provide HR managers with an overview of the increasingly central role attributed by the legislator to industrial and trade union relations in defining remuneration policies.

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Nova of the Month – Review on labour law and human resources management

Thursday, 28 May 2026, from 14:30 to 15:00

Lorenzo Dani and Giorgio Ottaviano will present the main developments and topics relating to labour law and corporate organisation in light of legislative measures and practice guidelines concerning the management of human resources within companies.

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