On October 15th, the Council of Ministers approved the so-called “2022 Tax Decree”: although it has not yet been published in the Official Gazette, based on the press release from the Council of Ministers and the draft Decree Law, some provisions concern labor matters.

First and foremost, the 2022 Tax Decree amends Legislative Decree No. 81/2008 (“Consolidated Text on the Protection of Health and Safety”), providing for:

• – the automatic application – and no longer only in case of “recidivism” – of the sanction of suspension of productive activity for the employer who employs, at the time of the inspection in the company, a percentage of irregular workers equal to or exceeding 10 percent – and therefore no longer 20 percent – and/or commits serious violations concerning the protection of health and safety at work;
• – the prohibition for the enterprise subject to the suspension of productive activity from contracting with the public administration for the entire period of suspension;
• – the payment of an additional sum for employers subject to the suspension of productive activity;
• – the penalty of arrest for the employer who does not comply with the suspension of productive activity;
• – the payment, by the employer intending to resume productive activity following the suspension, of a further sum (the amount of which varies depending on the severity of the violation and is doubled in case of recidivism), in addition to the obligation to restore regular working conditions.

The Decree in question has also expanded the competencies of the National Labor Inspectorate in matters of health and safety at work and has strengthened – with the objective of creating a single information database available to the National Labor Inspectorate, INAIL, Regions and Local Health Authorities – the National Information System for Prevention in the Workplace (the so-called “SINP”).

Furthermore, the 2022 Tax Decree:

• – puts an end to a period of uncertainty and again equates, until December 31st, the period of home quarantine of the worker to illness, placing the related costs entirely at the expense of INPS;
• – provides for a flat-rate reimbursement – not exceeding Euro 600.00 per worker – in favor of the private sector employer if an employee of his, required to quarantine, is not covered by INPS protection; such compensation is receivable only if the work performance of the worker has not been and/or cannot be carried out in smart working and upon submission of a specific application;
• – renews, until December 31st, the so-called “Covid Leave”, that is, the allowance granted to parents of cohabiting children under 14 years of age or with severe disabilities, forced to be absent from work to assist their child affected by Covid and/or in quarantine and/or in distance learning: such allowance, requestable exclusively by one of the parents who are dependent workers in the private sector, is equal to 50 percent of ordinary remuneration; similar measures are also provided for self-employed professionals registered exclusively in the Separate Management and self-employed workers, regardless of their registration with INPS;
• – grants the working parent the possibility to convert into “Covid Leave” ordinary parental leave already used for the same purpose from the beginning of the school year until the entry into force of the 2022 Tax Decree;
• – confirms the measure of extraordinary unpaid leave for workers with children aged between 14 and 16 years (who, therefore, under the same conditions provided for paid “Covid Leave”, may be absent from work with suspension of salary for the entire period of absence, with prohibition of dismissal and right to job preservation).

The 2022 Tax Decree also intervenes in the matter of extraordinary measures to support companies in crisis, providing for a new extension of the so-called “Covid wage guarantee fund” for another 13 weeks (thus extending the related coverage until December 31st); however, this support measure is usable exclusively by employers who in October have exhausted the weeks already authorized by previous regulatory interventions on the matter.

With regard to the latter point, it should be noted that the Minister of Labor and Social Policies has announced a general reform of social safety nets, which should take place – according to what has been anticipated – in the 2022 Budget Law.