Italy: government makes fixed-term employment contracts more flexible and supports employees’ purchasing power

On 01 May, International Workers’ day Italy’s Council of Ministers approved a decree-law addressing various labour related issues. Included in the text is a relaxation of norms surrounding fixed-term employment contracts, an additional reduction in employee-related social security contributions for those earning <€35,000 gross p.a. as a way of boosting their net take-home pay, and a tax exemption for benefits-of-kind (BOK) capped at  €3,000, made available to employees with dependent children. The text also buries the ‘citizens income,’ a kind of minimum income payment instituted in 2019, but which is now set to disappear in 2024.