With the end of the emergency regime, as of September 1, 2022 the obligation of the individual agreement returned (based on the provisions set out in articles 19 and 21 of Law no. 81/2017 and collective agreements) and the new simplified communication made its debut.
Until August 31, 2022, in fact, by virtue of special rules, employers in the private sector could make recourse to smart working even in the absence of individual agreements, with communication methods to the Ministry of Labor simplified with respect to the ordinary.
It is also worth noting the innovations introduced with the Protocol signed by the Ministry of Labor and Social Partners, which identifies the guidelines for the definition of the agreement which, among other aspects, will have to define the duration of the agreement (fixed term or for an indefinite period), the alternation between the periods of work inside and outside the company premises and the places possibly excluded for the performance of work outside the company premises.
Moreover, with the return to the ordinary regime, the simplification envisaged in recent months will not be completely lost, thanks to an innovation introduced by Law No. 122/2022 which converted into law the Decree no. 73/2022 in force as of September 1, 2022.
In fact, Article 41-bis of such decree makes the simplified communication procedure structural: companies do not have to forward the individual agreement to the Ministry of Labor, without prejudice to the stipulation obligation.
As of September 1, 2022, the names of employees for whom smart working agreements have been executed must be communicated electronically to the Ministry of Labor, together with the starting and termination dates of the smart working, using the methods identified with the decree of the Minister of Labor No. 149 of August 22, 2022.
Among the novelties, the aforementioned decree provides that, according to the provisions of Article 19, paragraph 1 of Law No. 81/2017, the employer will be required to keep the individual agreement signed with the worker for a period of five years.
Employers will therefore be required to send only the data relating to the names of workers in smart working, start and end date of smart working. The same information will be made available to INAIL.
In the event of failure to communicate, an administrative fine of between Euro 100 and Euro 500 will be applied for each worker concerned.
Avv. Guido Brocchieri
The content of this article does not constitute legal advice, but has an informative function. For tailor made legal advice, contact the firm by e-mail to: info@dongpartners.eu or by phone +39 06 916505710. © Dong & Partners International Law Firm, All rights reserved.
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