Disability report: how to apply within January 31st

By 31 January, employers with a headcount of minimum fifteen employees are required to apply and send with a web application the disability report to the competent offices, the Province.

This fulfilment is required by article 9 of the Law No. 68/1999 and the purpose is to declare the total headcount, the number of people with disabilities hired and to be hired, as of 31 December of the previous year.

The number to be hired (s.c. quota d'obbligo)

The law states that employers with a headcount of minimum fifteen are required to hire at least one person with disabilities.

More specifically, the number of people with disabilities to be hired (s.c. quota d'obbligo) varies according to company headcount:

• 15-35 employees: at least 1 employee with disabilities
• 36-50 employees: at least 2 employees with disabilities
• 51+ employees: 7% of company workforce.

In this last case, the employer must also hire employees belonging to "protected categories", i.e.:

- orphans and widows of employees who died due to work-related causes,

- spouses and children of gravely disabled employees. The disability must be due to war, service or work

- spouses and children of repatriated refugees.

The headcount required is 51-150: 1 protected category, 151+: 1% of workforce.

In any case, for headcount calculation purposes, the following employees are not to be considered:

- Executives (s.c. dirigenti);

- Apprentices;

- Employees under a fixed-term contract for a duration of no more than 6 months;

- Employees under a fixed-term contract specifically hired in substitution of an absent employee;

- Employees who are themselves with disabilities.

Employable persons

Hiring of employees with disabilities requires a prior employee's authorization (s.c. iscrizione nelle liste di collocamento) from the competent public office in order to be considered as "officially" disabled for mandatory purposes, unless there are employees with disability rate that exceeds 60%, in which case said procedure is not required.

Deadline

Obligation to hire employees with disabilities has to be fulfillled within 60 days from insurgence of the obligation, related to the headcount.

It is however possible to negotiate an agreement (s.c. convenzione) with competent public offices, in order to provide time to find and select a suitable candidate; furthermore, companies with proven difficulty to hire suitable employees with disabilities may request and obtain a partial exemption from such obligation. This, however, requires prior approval from public offices and requires the payment of Euro39.21 for each employee, for each workday.

Periodical fulfilments

The report must be constantly updated, with the obligation to notify any hire of employee with disabilities within 60 days from the insurgence of the obligation (art- 9, Law 68/1999).

Penalties 

In the event of failure to transmit the prospectus, the administrative fine is €702.43, increased by €34.02 for each day of further delay (Ministerial Decree no. 194/2021).

Compliance with the disability laws is a mandatory requirement to participate in public tenders.