Italy
Safeguard your business against legal pitfalls in Italy with Lerio's comprehensive HR solutions.
Hiring in Italy at a glance
€ / EUR
35 hours / week
12 holidays / year
The most common payment frequency is monthly.
By law, an employee must be paid at least once a month
Italian
58M
No national minimum wage
1st Jan – 31st Dec
Employment Tax
- Social security insurance: 9.20% – 10.50%
- Income tax: 23% – 41% depending on factors like income, household, etc
- Social Security: 23.81%
- National sickness benefits contribution: .44%
- National maternity benefits contribution: 0.24%
- Termination severance funds (TFR): 6.91%
- Termination severance fund (TFR) guarantee contribution: 0.20%
- Unemployment Insurance: 1.61%
- Workman compensation Insurance (INAIL): 0.40%
Income Tax
| Taxable salary | Tax Rate (%) | ||
| €0 - €15 000 | 23% | ||
| €15 001 - €28 000 | 27% | ||
| €28 001 - €55 000 | 38% | ||
| €55 001 - €75 000 | 41% | ||
| €75 000 | 43% |
Employer of Record
in Italy
As the designated employer, an Employer of Record takes on the responsibility of upholding compliance with Australian employment laws. This involves essential duties like payroll administration, tax payment, and the provision of timely employment documentation.
Employer of
Record Process
- Company
- Full legal name of prospective employee
- Employee contact details
- Employee nationality and residency status
- Proposed start date
- Right to work status
- Job title
- Working hours
- Job description and deliverables
- Salary information
- Benefit information
- Intellectual property and confidentiality agreement
- Terms of termination (e.g. notice period)
- Probation period
- EMployee bank details
- All other company-specific requirements (e.g. non-compete, intellectual property clauses, etc.)
Finds their perfect hire and provides Lerio with all the information required to prepare an employment agreement. For Australia, that includes:
- Lerio
Prepares the employment agreement and shares with the prospective employee for signing. Requests all additional documents such as identity documents, proof of right to work in Australia, tax information, etc.
- Employee
Signs employment agreement and submits required documents.
Umbrella Process
- Employee
Now no longer a prospective employee but simply an official employee, who ensures to keep Lerio updated on any personal information changes.
- Lerio
Onboards employee to payroll and benefit programs to get started ensuring that salaries are paid every month and benefits are administered. Tax contributions and benefit fees are paid and payslips are provided to the employee.
Lerio provides an invoice and statement to the company for each month.
- Company
Receives monthly invoice, reviews and processes. Provides information on whether anything has changed in their relationship with the employee, the employee’s role or the company that will have an effect on the upcoming payroll run.
Employee Benefits
- Health insurance
- Pension
- Workers compensation insurance
- Unemployment insurance
- Death and disability insurance
- 13th and 14th salary payment
Non-mandatory
Employee Benefits
- Extended health care
- Extended pension
Employee Rights
- Equal and equitable access to opportunities and treatment
- Right to join and belong to a labour union
- Protection of personal information
- Fair and just dismissals
- Right to severance pay regardless of reason for termination
Leave
4 weeks per year with one 14 day break required
Allocated days depend on the company’s CBA.
1 – 3 days: 100% paid leave paid by the company
3 – 21 days: 100% paid leave, 50% paid by the company and 50% paid by social insurance
22 days + : 100% paid leave, social insurance pays 66% and company pays 33%
5 months paid leave at a00% standard salary. 80% is funded by social insurance and the remaining 20% by the company. 2 months to be taken before delivery date and 3 months after.
7 days fully paid leave through social insurance.
11 months leave paid at 30% of the parent’s standard salary through social insurance. This time can be divided between parents but must be taken before the child turns 12.
3 paid days for a close family member’s death.
one-time period of 15 days to get married
Generally 30 days and increases with seniority but the requirements are set between the CBAs and companies
Probation
Not required and maxed at 3 months for most employees while 6 months for executive and high-level employees. Some CBAs have different rules.
What is a work permit in Italy?
Work permits are official documents from a country’s government that qualifies an individual to legally work and live in the country. However, this is a broad term and many countries require more than one official document and may use different terms to refer to these documents – and Italy is one of them. Essentially all terms are referencing documents that prove someone has been given the legal right to work and live in the country.
In Italy, the “work permit” required to legally live and work there is generally made up of two separate documents:
- Work visa
- Residence permit
Who needs a work permit in Italy?
Italy requires everyone who is not a citizen or a permanent resident to go through a process of obtaining legal right to work, with certain exceptions:
EU member state citizens: All EU citizens have the right to work in another EU member state. They may however need to register their presence in the country (if staying for three months or less) or register your residence (staying for longer than three months). Italy is an EU member state and therefore EU member state citizens don’t need to obtain any documents to prove their right to work and live in Italy. They are required to register their residence in Italy to receive a certificate of residence when staying for longer than three months.
Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway: As members of the EEA (European Economic Area), Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway citizens have the same rights as any EU member state citizen to work and live in Italy. They are required to follow the same process as EU citizens as described above.
Switzerland: Though not a part of the EU or the EEA, the EU has an agreement with the Swiss government that allows a mutual freedom of movement. This affords Swiss nationals the same rights as any EU citizen to work and live in Italy. They are required to follow the same process as EU citizens as described above.
Therefore, anybody who is not a citizen of an EU member state, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Switzerland needs to go through the process to obtain a legal right to work.
*UK citizens: Please see here to understand the rights of UK citizens who settled in Italy prior to Brexit.
How long does it take to get a work permit in Italy?
As three documents are needed to obtain the right to work in Italy, there are three processing times to consider. Note that the documents need to be applied for sequentially, i.e. the authorisation to work is needed to apply for the work visa.
Current processing times are estimated to be:
Authorisation to work: Up to 60 days
Work visa: Up to 90 days but salaried work visas are usually 30 days
Residence permit: Varies largely between areas (right to stay and work is not affected if this takes very long)
Types of work visas in Italy
Employed worker
The employed work visa, is a visa subject to the annual quota for any skilled worker
Eligibility:
- An offer of work from an Italian company
- The offer of work is above the legislative required salary
- The Italian employer can prove that they tried to find someone local for the job but couldn’t (through authorisation of work)
- The annual quota for foreigners allowed to be permitted has not yet been reached
- The necessary qualifications and experience to fulfill the role requirements
EU Blue Card
The EU blue card is a combined work and residency permit available to highly skilled individuals. It allows holders access to live and work in 25 out of the 27 EU member states (Denmark and Ireland not included).
Eligibility
- Bachelors or higher degree, some states accept 5 years of relevant experience without a degree
- Must be a salaried employee, not self-employed
- Annual salary must be at least 1.5 times the average national income of the state applying for
- Offer of employment
- Health insurance
Country-specific requirements and application processes can be seen here.
Other visas:
In addition you can apply for seasonal work visas and self-employed work visas.
Application process in Italy
Authorisation to work (Nulla Osta)
The employer needs to request authorization from the One-Stop-Shops for Immigration at the Prefettura office where the role is based. This authorization is contingent upon availability within the yearly quota for non-EU employees.
Work visa
The person looking to work in Italy must apply for the work visa at their local Italian embassy or consulate.
- Complete the application form (can be done online from most countries) and make an appointment with the consulate/embassy
- Collect all the required documents to prepare for the appointment
- Attend the visa appointment where:
- Required documents will be submitted
- Biometric data will be recorded
- A brief interview will be conducted (sometimes this doesn’t happen)
- Collect visa and use within six months (calculated from the date the authorisation of work was approved)
Residence Permit
Within eight days of arriving in Italy, the application for a residence permit must be submitted at the One-Stop-Shop for Immigration located within the Prefettura of the province where employment is based.
What documents are required to apply for a work permit in Italy?
Authorisation to work (Nulla Osta)
Documents may vary based on the employee’s country of origin.
- Employee’s passport
- Employment agreement
- Proof that the role could not be filled locally
- Proof of education and qualifications
- Proof of relevant experience/qualifications to the job
Work visa
- Employment agreement
- The original and a copy of your Nulla Osta.
- Completed Italian Long-Stay Visa Application form
- Passport with at least two blank pages, valid for minimum one year
- Two passport pictures
- Proof of accommodation
- Proof of sufficient financial means
- Proof of paid visa fee
- Proof of education and qualifications
Residence permit
- Four passport-size pictures
- Valid passport
- Italian work visa documents listed above (this is advised but it’s good to check in with the local municipality)
- Proof of health insurance
Contact Us
If you have questions - feel free to ask them. We are happy to help our clients.