In 2026, Italian Law revisited an issue of great importance to businesses that is much debated and highly sensitive. It regards the management of temporary agency work: for how long can the same agency worker be assigned to the same client organisation? For how many months or years? And what is the maximum duration of such an assignment, beyond which it may be at risk of being deemed unlawful?

Or, to put it another way: should a worker who is employed on a permanent contract by a staff leasing Agency and at the same time is assigned on a fixed-term assignment basis -  be treated as a normal fixed-term worker?

The answer provided today by the Italian Government appears clear: no.

Permanent staff leasing: ratio and evolution of the 24-months limit

Under Article 16-quinquies of Law-Decree No. 62/2026 (so-called "Primo Maggio Decree"), converted into Italian Law No. 112/2026, the Italian authorities have in fact clarified the position on this matter by repealing  the amendments made on this issue by the 2025 "Collegato Lavoro" (Law No. 203/2024, Annexed to the Italian Budget Law of 2025). The Collegato Lavoro had definitively repealed – on behalf of the derogations introduced during the COVID period – the possibility for the user employer to extend the fixed-term assignments of work...