In brief, Italian government to put in place tax incentives to encourage measures to aid work-life balance

A decree signed on 13 September by Giuliano Poletti, the Italian minister for labour and social policies, and Pier Carlo Padoan, the country’s economy and finance minister, has unlocked 110 million euros of funding to cover 2017 and 2018. The money will allow for reductions in the social security contributions made by employers who include measures to foster work-life balance in their second-level agreements. To be eligible for these tax incentives, companies need to have signed an agreement with trade unions between 1 January 2017 and 31 August 2018, and have registered this with the Italian labour ministry. According to a statement from the ministry, such agreements must include specific and “innovative” initiatives, which represent “an improvement when compared to what is already contained in national collective agreements and the regulatory framework”. The decree took up points that were put forward by an ad hoc working group, containing representatives from departments – for family policy and equal opportunities – of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers.