Secondment to Italy: new rules for foreign companies

Purpose of the new national law is to avoid fraudulent use of secondment, especially from countries with wage systems less onerous than the Italian's.

The legislative decree n. 2023/27, published on the Official Gazette of the Italian Republic, March 20th, 2023, n. 67 and entered into force on March 23^rd, 2023, pursues this aim not only through provisions dedicated to the road transport sector, but also amending obligations of general application in case workers are posted to Italy.

The Decree implements the European Directive n. 2020/1057, laying down specific rules with respect to Directive 96/71/EC and Directive 2014/67/EU for posting drivers in the road transport sector and amending Directive 2006/22/EC as regards enforcement requirements and Regulation (EU) No 1024/2012.

The directive 2014/67/EU was implemented in Italy by the legislative decree n. 2016/136, but it has been now significantly amended by the Decree.

The amendments aim to further incentivize genuine secondments through various measures, among which notably the obligation to apply  working and employment conditions comparable to those provided for under Italian regulations and collective agreements as regards :

1. maximum periods of work and minimum periods of rest;
2. minimum duration of annual paid leave;