Published in the Official Gazette on 30 April, Decree-Law no. 62 (the so-called “First of May Decree”) introduces measures on incentives for stable employment, “fair pay”, collective bargaining renewals, digital labour exploitation, and work-life balance.
Incentives for stable employment
The opening articles of the Decree introduce the new employment incentives: the Youth, Women and ZES Bonuses, first introduced in 2024 by the Cohesion Decree and extended until 30 April 2026 by the Milleproroghe Decree (Decree-Law no. 200/2025). By repealing the provisions contained in the Milleproroghe Decree, Decree-Law no. 62 substantially reintroduces their structure, while limiting their application to permanent hires made between 1 January 2026 and 31 December 2026, thereby excluding the conversion of fixed-term contracts into permanent contracts from the scope of the three incentives.
The “Women Bonus 2026”, under Article 1 of Decree-Law no. 62/2026, grants employers who hire on a permanent basis women of any age who have been without regularly paid employment for at least twenty-four months, or for at least twelve months if they belong to one of the categories included in the definition of “disadvantaged worker”, a 100% exemption from employer social security contributions, up to a limit of €650 per month, for a maximum of two years (reduced to twelve months for “disadvantaged” female workers). The monthly amount of the exemption rises to €800 for the hiring of workers residing in the regions included in the “Single ZES for Southern Italy”.
The “Youth Bonus 2026”, governed by Article 2 of Decree no. 62/2026, is aimed at employers who hire on a permanent basis young people under 35 who have been without regularly paid employment for at least twenty-four months, or for at least twelve months if they belong to categories falling within the definition of “disadvantaged worker”. The measure consists of a 100% exemption from employer contributions up to a limit of €500 per month for a maximum of two years (reduced to twelve months in the case of “disadvantaged” young workers). The exemption increases to €650 for the hiring of young people at a workplace located in the Single ZES regions, which currently also include Marche and Umbria.
Lastly, Article 3 of Decree-Law no. 62/2026 governs the “ZES Bonus 2026”, reserved for employers operating in Southern Italy who, at the time of the subsidised hiring, employ up to 10 workers. In this case, the incentive applies to the stabilisation of workers aged 35 or over who have been unemployed for at least two years. The exemption is granted up to a maximum of €650 per month for up to twenty-four months.
The conversion of fixed-term relationships, excluded from the contribution incentives described above, is instead covered by the “Stabilisation Incentive”: employers who, between 1 August and 31 December 2026, convert into permanent contracts fixed-term agreements entered into by 30 April 2026 with young people under 35 in their first stable job may benefit from a contribution incentive lasting up to twenty-four months. The exemption, equal to 100% of the employer social security contributions due, may be authorised up to a maximum of €500 per month.
From an operational perspective, on 14 May INPS published the first circulars governing the application and use of the Youth Bonus, Women Bonus and ZES Bonus respectively.
Work-life balance
To support the balance between family and working life, as well as motherhood and fatherhood, companies holding UNI/PdR 192:2026 certification are granted a contribution relief equal to 1% of employer contributions, up to a maximum of €50,000 per year (Article 6, Decree-Law no. 62/2026).
A ministerial decree, to be adopted within 30 days of the conversion of Decree-Law no. 62/2026, will define the rules and implementation procedures for this contribution relief.
Fair pay and collective bargaining
Article 7 of the Decree-Law introduces the concept of “fair pay”, identified as the overall economic treatment provided for by national collective bargaining agreements entered into by the comparatively most representative organisations at national level.
By recalling the constitutional principle set out in Article 36 of the Italian Constitution, the provision confirms that collective bargaining remains the primary instrument for determining adequate remuneration capable of ensuring workers overall economic treatment proportionate to the quantity and quality of the work performed.
It follows that the economic treatments provided for by the various national collective bargaining agreements may not be lower than those established by the comparatively most representative agreement at national level for the relevant sector, production category, main or prevailing activity, and the size and legal nature of the employer. In sectors not covered by collective bargaining, the employer must refer to the agreement that is most closely related in scope and business activity, in order to avoid forms of contractual dumping.
Failure to comply with the individual economic treatment determined in this way—according to the provision—precludes, among other things, access to the contribution benefits introduced by the “First of May Decree”.
Once the conversion law of Decree-Law no. 62/2026 enters into force, job offers published on the SIISL platform will have to indicate the applicable national collective bargaining agreement, its related alphanumeric code, and the remuneration corresponding to the job classification and grading level. For transparency purposes, Article 11 provides that the same code must also be included in the information provided to the employee at the time of hiring and on the payslip. In addition, the alphanumeric code of the national collective bargaining agreement will have to be indicated in mandatory communications and social security filings, and will be used by the competent authorities to monitor the application of collective agreements, detect possible pay discrepancies, and plan inspections, including for the purpose of combating contractual dumping and verifying access to statutory benefits.
Collective bargaining renewals
With regard to pay increases, the Decree intervenes in collective bargaining renewals in order to avoid prolonged deadlocks. During renewal negotiations, the social partners will have to regulate the starting date of pay increases, any one-off amounts, and the instruments for financially covering the period between the expiry of the national collective agreement and the signing of the renewal (the so-called contractual gap period).
If the renewal is not completed within twelve months of the natural expiry of the collective agreement, wages will be adjusted automatically, as an advance payment, by an amount equal to 30% of IPCA inflation, unless otherwise provided by the agreement. The rules under review will automatically apply to agreements expiring after the entry into force of the Decree; for collective agreements already expired, however, they will not apply before 1 January 2027.
Combating digital labour exploitation
Chapter III of the Decree-Law, lastly, governs the protection of work carried out through digital platforms. Article 12, on the classification of the employment relationship, clarifies that the determining factor is the actual manner in which the work is performed, not the contractual form adopted. Where powers of control or managerial direction are present, even if exercised through algorithmic systems, the relationship is presumed to be subordinate employment.
The Decree also introduces specific obligations for platforms, including the collection and retention of data relating to the activity performed, the transmission of that data to the competent authorities, and the adoption of risk indicators aimed at combating undeclared work and breaches of health and safety rules.
Transparency obligations vis-à-vis workers are also strengthened. Workers must be informed about the algorithmic systems used for: i) assigning tasks, ii) determining remuneration, iii) evaluations, and iv) the suspension, restriction, or termination of access to the platform. Workers are also granted the right to obtain an explanation of automated decisions affecting working conditions and pay, and to request human review of those decisions.
Lastly, specific protections are provided for riders, including rules governing access to the platform and the use of accounts (a single access will be linked to each tax code), obligations to ensure traceability of services performed—also through the Single Labour Register, in which the number of deliveries and the total amount paid to the worker for each month of activity must be recorded—as well as mandatory training measures and a system of penalties in the event of breaches of the relevant provisions.