Newsletter February 2026

Workers recovered from oncological illnesses – Measures for labour market reintegration  

With Ministerial Decree no. 4 of 20 January 2026, the Ministry of Labour and Social Policies has set out the instruments intended to support the return to work of employees who have recovered from an oncological illness. 

Specifically, in such circumstances the employer, following an update of the risk assessment (art. 17, para. 1(a) of Legislative Decree no. 81/2008) and after seeking the opinion of the occupational physician (art. 38 of Legislative Decree no. 81/2008), is required to adopt measures enabling workers to: 

• return to or remain in their job, 

• reconcile treatment needs with their work, 

• avoid discrimination. 

These measures include reasonable accommodation, consisting of necessary and appropriate organisational modifications and adjustments that do not impose a disproportionate or excessive burden. Such measures are to be adopted, upon request of the worker in a condition of vulnerability, in order to ensure the effective and timely enjoyment, on an equal basis with others, of civil and social rights. 

Health and safety at work – Recording of mandatory training activities 

Pursuant to art. 5(1)(d) of Decree-Law no. 159/2025, converted into law, with amendments, by Law no. 198/2025, it is provided that, as from 1 January 2026, the employer must record in the employee’s electronic file (art. 14 of Legislative Decree no. 150/2015) the training programmes relating to occupational health and safety in which the employee has participated, also indicating the skills acquired (art. 37, para. 14 of Legislative Decree no. 81/2008). 

The information contained in the electronic file, relating to education and training programmes, employment periods, the receipt of public benefits and the payment of social security contributions, is considered: 

• by the employer, in order to define the planning of training activities for the worker involved in the company’s prevention and protection system, 

• by supervisory authorities, when verifying the correct and timely fulfilment by the employer of the training obligations set out by Legislative Decree no. 81/2008 in the field of occupational health and safety. 

READ

Supplementary healthcare – Tax treatment of contributions 

In its answer to query no. 2/2026, Agenzia delle Entrate (Italian Revenue Agency) clarified that contributions to supplementary healthcare schemes paid both by the employer and by the employee do not constitute employment income, even in the absence of an employment relationship, since such contributions operate according to the principles of mutuality and solidarity among members. 

Substitute tax on pay increases and shift allowances – Tax codes  

With Resolutions no. 2 and no. 3 of 2026, Agenzia delle Entrate established the tax codes for the payment of: 

• the substitute tax on i) bonuses and allowances for night work and for work performed on public holidays, as well as on ii) shift allowances paid to employees, 

• the substitute tax on pay increases granted to employees in 2026 pursuant to collective agreement renewals signed between 1 January 2024 and 31 December 2026. 

Concerning the aforementioned pay increases, it should be noted that the tax authorities have not provided any further interpretative guidance concerning the application of the substitute tax regime. 

Workers employed abroad – deductibility of contributions paid in the foreign State 

In its answer to query no. 5/2026, Agenzia delle Entrate confirmed that, for the purposes of determining the employment income of a worker performing work abroad while remaining tax resident in Italy, social security and welfare contributions paid either by the employer or by the employee in compliance with statutory provisions are deductible from the worker’s income calculated on the basis of conventional remuneration. 

Regional tax – rates for 2026 

The Ministry of Economy and Finance has updated the relevant section of its institutional website, indicating the rates of the regional IRPEF surcharges to be applied by the withholding agent with reference to the Region in which the worker has his or her tax domicile as from 1 January 2026. 

In this regard, it should be noted that any change in tax domicile produces effects after 60 days from the date of the change. 

READ

Minimum and maximum pension contribution thresholds for 2026  

With circular message no. 6/2026, INPS announced the minimum daily remuneration threshold for 2026 and updated the other values required for the calculation of the elements of compulsory social security and welfare contributions for the generality of employees. 

With reference to the payment of social security and welfare contributions relating to January 2026, employers must regularise the relevant amounts by 16 April 2026. 

READ

CIGS subsidised furlough for companies operating in areas of complex industrial crisis – Intervention by the Ministry of Labour 

With circular message no. 3/2026, the Ministry of Labour and Social Policies reaffirmed the regulatory framework and the procedures for submitting applications for access to CIGS subsidised furlough for employees of companies operating in areas of complex industrial crisis, following the refinancing for 2026 through additional resources (EUR 100 million) allocated to the Fondo sociale per occupazione e formazione (art. 1, para. 165 of Law no. 199/2025). 

In the absence of a specific interministerial decree providing for the allocation of resources among the Regions, for the purposes of authorising access to the subsidised furlough scheme it will not be necessary to verify the availability of resources at regional level, but only the sufficiency of the overall financial allocation. 

Stock options accrued during periods of work abroad – Tax treatment 

With answer to query no. 37/2026, Agenzia delle Entrate clarified that stock options accrued during the period in which the employee performed work abroad, while remaining tax resident in Italy, are to be regarded as included within the lump-sum determination of the taxable base calculated by reference to conventional remuneration. 

CU 2026 certification – Transmission of data relating to employees whose employment has terminated
 

INPS provided instructions regarding the procedures and deadlines for employers to transmit data relating to fringe benefits and stock options granted to employees whose employment terminated during 2025 and who have acquired entitlement to a pension. With regard to such employees, INPS is required to perform the functions of withholding agent. 

In particular, for the purposes of the preparation of the Certificazione Unica 2026 by the Institute, the employer concerned must submit the aforementioned data exclusively by electronic means no later than 28 February 2026. 

Entry flow quotas of foreign workers into Italy – Allocation for 2026  

With Note no. 531 of 16 February 2026, the Ministry of Labour and Social Policies announced the allocation of quotas for non-seasonal subordinate employment for the year 2026, following the Prime Ministerial Decree of 2 October 2025. 

In particular, for the current year the Ministry allocates 43,300 quotas for non-seasonal subordinate employment, distributed as follows: 

– 25,000 quotas for non-seasonal subordinate employment for citizens of the countries listed in art. 6, para. 2(a) of the Prime Ministerial Decree of 2 October 2025;
– 18,000 quotas for non-seasonal subordinate employment for citizens of countries with which migration cooperation agreements enter into force during the three-year period;
– 300 quotas for non-seasonal subordinate employment for stateless persons and refugees recognised by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees or by the competent authorities in the countries of first asylum or transit. 

ISTAT – Consumer price index for January 2026 

With the Press Release of 23 February 2026, ISTAT announced the consumer price index for blue- and white-collar households (FOI), excluding tobacco, for January 2026, equal to 100.4 points. On the basis of this index, the revaluation coefficients for the trattamento di fine rapporto (TFR) and employment-related credits are determined. 

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

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

INPS – 2026 minimum and maximum taxable values for pension contribution  

With circular message no. 6/2026, INPS published the minimum daily wage threshold for 2026 and updated the other values required for the calculation of the elements of compulsory social contribution for employees.  

With reference to the payment of social contribution relating to January 2026, employers will adjust the amounts by 16 April 2026.  

READ

INPS separate management scheme (“gestione separata”) – Minimum and maximum contribution thresholds for 2026  

With circular message no. 8/2026, INPS indicated the reference values applicable for the period from 1 January 2026 to 31 December 2026 for the calculation of compulsory social security and welfare contributions for workers enrolled in the Gestione Separata (art. 2, para. 26 of Law no. 335/1995). 

For the year 2026, the annual ceiling of the contribution and pensionable base has been increased to EUR 122,295.00 (art. 2, para. 18 of Law no. 335/1995 and INPS circular message no. 6/2026). 

READ

Occupational accidents and occupational diseases – CNEL alphanumeric code in reports 

As part of the development of an investigative system relating to the prevention of occupational accidents, INAIL announced that it has entered into an interinstitutional agreement with the National Council for Economics and Labour (CNEL) aimed at developing and sharing information flows to improve the statistical, qualitative and quantitative analysis of harmful events connected with work activities (INAIL, circular message no. 4/2026). 

The agreement introduces, as from 12 January 2026, the obligation for the employer to include the unique alphanumeric code assigned by CNEL to the applicable CCNL within the accident notification and the report of occupational accident or occupational disease (art. 16-quater of Decree-Law no. 76/2020). 

READ

“Inpatriates” and academic staff – Clarifications on the extension of the respective special tax regimes 

With Resolution no. 8/2026, Agenzia delle Entrate clarified on the extension of the special tax regimes applicable to “inpatriate” workers (art. 16 of Legislative Decree no. 147/2015) and to teachers and researchers (art. 44 of Decree-Law no. 78/2010). 

Agenzia delle Entrate specified that: 

• the special tax regime for inpatriate workers may also be extended to workers who entered Italy during the period between 30 April 2019 and 2 July 2019, notwithstanding the fact that, at the time, the implementing ministerial decree for the Fondo Controesodo had not yet been adopted, 

• with regard to the special tax regime for teachers and researchers who transferred to Italy from 2020 onwards, a progressive extension of the preferential period is permitted where the number of minor or dependent children increases during the relevant period. 

Health and safety at work – Intervention by the Labour Inspectorate on the new provisions

With circular message no. 1/2026, the National Labour Inspectorate (INL) examines the provisions contained in Decree-Law no. 159/2025, converted, with amendments, by Law no. 198/2025, concerning the protection of health and safety at work. 

The aforementioned provisions, in force as from 31 December 2025, amend the rules governing the supervisory activities carried out by the INL and introduce new compliance obligations for employers. 

Budget Law 2026 – INPS instructions on pensions 

With circular message no. 19/2026, issued in coordination with the Ministry of Labour and Social Policies, INPS provides guidance on the implementation of the provisions set out in Law no. 199/2025 concerning pension benefits. 

In particular, it is clarified that: 

• following the extension until 31 December 2026 of the experimental phase of the early retirement scheme APE sociale, the instructions previously issued by INPS concerning the submission of applications for access to the benefit remain applicable, 

• employees who meet, by 31 December 2026, the contribution requirement for access to early retirement (art. 24, para. 10 of Decree-Law no. 201/2011) may benefit from the incentive to postpone retirement provided for by art. 1, para. 286 of Law no. 197/2022, 

• as from 1 January 2026, the possibility for workers to aggregate one or more annuity benefits from supplementary pension schemes in order to reach the threshold amount required to access early retirement or old-age pension under the contributory system has been repealed, 

• the provisions relating to early retirement under Opzione donna and to flexible early retirement under Quota 103 have not been extended. 

Pay increases established by collective agreement renewals – Guidance on the substitute tax 

With circular message no. 2/2026, Agenzia delle Entrate set out its interpretative position regarding the application of the substitute tax on IRPEF and the related regional and municipal surcharges at a rate of 5% to pay increases granted during 2026 to private-sector employees as a result of collective agreement renewals concluded between 1 January 2024 and 31 December 2026 (art. 1, paras. 7–12 of Law no. 199/2025). 

READ

Recruitment in southern Italy (‘ZES’ area) – INPS guidance on the social security contribution exemption 

With Circular no. 10/2026, INPS issued operational guidance for the application of the exemption from the payment of compulsory social security contributions granted, for a period not exceeding 24 months, to employers established in one of the Regions of the Single Special Economic Zone (ZES unica) who, between 1 September 2024 and 31 December 2025, hired an employee meeting the above-mentioned requirements. 

The exemption does not apply where the employment relationship established is: 

• domestic work, 

• apprenticeship contracts, 

• employment with ‘dirigenti’ (executives). 

Insurance premiums due to INAIL are explicitly excluded from the scope of application of the contribution exemption. 

The measure was authorised by the European Commission through Implementing Decision C(2025) 5730 of 14 August 2025. 

READ

Obligation to contribute to the Fondo di Tesoreria – Instructions applicable from 1 January 2026 

As from 1 January 2026, the financing mechanism of the Fondo per l’erogazione ai lavoratori dipendenti del settore privato dei trattamenti di fine rapporto di cui all’articolo 2120 del codice civile (Fondo di Tesoreria), governed by art. 1, para. 756 of Law no. 296/2006, has been significantly amended by art. 1, para. 203 of Law no. 199/2025. 

The introduction of the sixth and seventh paragraphs of the aforementioned art. 1, para. 756 of Law no. 296/2006 has in fact led to a substantial expansion of the scope of application of the obligation to contribute to the Fund. 

Where, until 31 December 2025, the contribution obligation applied to employers who, with reference to the year 2006 or to the year in which the activity commenced, had reached the threshold of 50 employees – regardless of whether that threshold was subsequently reached or even exceeded – the provision introduced by art. 1(203) of Law no. 199/2025 instead provides that such obligation may also arise where the average annual workforce threshold is reached at a time subsequent to the year 2006 or to the year in which the activity commenced. 

Supplementing the guidance previously issued by INPS through Circular no. 70/2007 in relation to the provisions applicable until 31 December 2025 (art. 1, para. 756 of Law no. 296/2006), the present note aims to examine the provisions introduced as from 1 January 2026 together with the clarifications more recently provided by the Institute through circular message no. 12/2026 concerning: 

• the scope of application of the contribution obligation in question, 

• the criteria for determining the workforce threshold upon the reaching of which the obligation to contribute to the Fund arises, 

• the commencement of the contribution obligation, specifying that, during the initial application phase, an employer required to pay contributions as from 1 January 2026 due to the amendments introduced by art. 1, para. 203 of Law no. 199/2025 may fulfil such obligation by 16 May 2026 with reference to the TFR – accrued and accruing – between 1 January and 30 April 2026. 

READ

JUS – The Case Law Review Journal 

In this February issue of JUS, the focus will be on: i) the long-standing issue of reasonable accommodation, taking as a starting point a well-reasoned judgment concerning a unilateral transfer ordered by the employer and identified by the latter as a reasonable accommodation. Still in connection with unfitness for the position, we will also analyse, 

ii) another judgment concerning a travel allowance that had not been paid; and, finally, we will address two issues with significant operational implications,

iii) the requirements for the application of art. 18 of the Statuto dei Lavoratori in relation to workforce thresholds; and  

iv) the existence of actual representativeness for the purposes ofestablishinganti-union conduct. 

READ

Collective redundancies: the criteria for selecting employees to be dismissed

By Marcella de Trizio 

AG addressed the topic “Collective redundancies: the criteria for selecting employees to be dismissed”, published in MementoPiù, edited by Giuffrè Francis Lefebvre, authored by lawyer Marcella de Trizio. 

The collective redundancy procedure concerning Harmont & Blaine in Caivano and the “Bluergo” case in Castelfranco Veneto prompt a brief reflection on collective redundancy as a legal mechanism designed by the legislator according to strictly proceduralised rules, aimed at safeguarding all parties involved. 

The dismissal of an employee on the grounds of subsequent unfitness for duties is void where the employee has been declared temporarily fit for the role pending a further medical examination (Court of Prato, judgment no. 476/2025). 

According to the Court, in such circumstances the employer “could have adopted alternative solutions, including suspension of the employment relationship, but certainly could not resort to the ultimate measure of dismissal”. 

MementoPiù, edited by Giuffrè Francis Lefebvre

READ

Oral dismissal – Burden of proof on the employee 

An employee challenging a dismissal given without compliance with the written form requirement bears the burden of proving that the termination of the employment relationship is not attributable to his or her resignation but rather to the employer’s intention, even where such intention has been manifested through conclusive conduct (Corte di Cassazione, 23 February 2026, no. 4077). 

NCBA Rubber and Plastics Industry: Agreement of 10 December 2025

By Luca Barbieri and Matteo Raglio

AG addressed the topic “NCBA Rubber and Plastics Industry: Agreement of 10 December 2025”, published in Diritto & Pratica del Lavoro, edited by Wolters Kluwer, authored by Luca Barbieri and Matteo Raglio.

Ahead of its natural expiry, the NCBA of 10 December 2025 for employees in the rubber industry, electrical cables and related sectors, as well as in the plastics industry, entered into force on 1 January 2026. In addition to provisions concerning economic treatment, significant measures have been introduced in relation, for example, to professional training, the classification system, equity, the protection of health and safety at work and inclusion, including the introduction of specific guidelines for the application of reasonable accommodation.

Diritto & Pratica del Lavoro, edited by Wolters Kluwer

READ

INPS Treasury Fund: regulatory and administrative aspects of the contribution obligation

By Luca Barbieri and Matteo Raglio

AG addressed the topic “Treasury Fund: regulatory and administrative aspects of the contribution obligation”, published in Diritto & Pratica del Lavoro, edited by Wolters Kluwer, authored by Luca Barbieri and Matteo Raglio.

As from 1 January 2026, the financing mechanism of the Fondo di Tesoreria has been significantly amended, particularly with regard to the scope of application, which has been considerably expanded. The contribution provides an initial analysis of the new provisions, also in light of recent guidance issued by INPS, setting out cases and examples that highlight the effects of the 2026 Budget Law both from an administrative and an economic perspective.

Diritto & Pratica del Lavoro, edited by Wolters Kluwer

READ

INAIL self-assessment – Determination of the taxable base for part-time employees 

Scenario
Rossi SpA operates in the digital communication sector and applies the NCBA for the Tertiary sector (CNEL code: H011) to its employees. In February 2026, as usual, the company proceeds with the calculation of the INAIL premium self-assessment to be paid by 16 February 2026, using its internal corporate software for payroll statements and annual reporting. 

During the calculation and verification of the results, the company carries out an analysis of the premium calculated for the employee Marco Bianchi, the only part-time employee currently employed by the company, with a contract of 24 hours per week (60% of the contractual working time), considering the premium calculated by its software to be disproportionate (…). 

READ

CONTRACTUAL DEADLINES

ADMINISTRATIVE DEADLINES 

NORMATIVE DEADLINES 

AGPill – Uderstanding the CU 2026 certification: key requirement 

By Giovanna Caivano 

The new Labour Consultancy pill, “Understanding the CU 2026 certification: key requirement”, by Giovanna Caivano – Team Manager for International Projects, provides a clear and practical overview of the Single Certification (CU), explaining what the CU is, who is required to receive it, how it is submitted, and when it must be submitted. 

WATCH VIDEO

Substitute tax regime for pay increases, bonuses and shift allowances

Thursday, 19 March 2026 – from 2:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. 

During the webinar, Luca Barbieri and Matteo Raglio will analyse the rules governing the substitute tax regime applicable as from 1 January 2026 to: 

• pay increases granted during 2026 resulting from collective agreement renewals, 

• bonuses and allowances paid to employees for performing night work, shift work or work on public holidays or weekly rest days. 

Participants will have the opportunity to examine, also through practical examples, the scope of application and the subjective requirements necessary to benefit from the new tax regime, in light of the most recent guidance issued by Agenzia delle Entrate. 

SUBSCRIBE

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

Thursday, 26 March 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.