After having been announced by the Premier Conte at the end of the meeting of the Council of Ministers on Monday, March 16, finally was published in the Official Gazette n. 70 of 17.03.2020 the D.L. n. 18 of 2020, already known as the decree "Cura Italia".
This regulatory apparatus - which in part incorporates, extending them to the whole country, the provisions already contained in Decree Law No. 9/2020 concerning the so-called "red areas" and "yellow areas" of Lombardy, Veneto and Emilia-Romagna - is in addition to the emergency provisions already issued by the Government during the past weeks to deal with the health emergency (or pandemic, as defined by the WHO) related to the rapid and unexpected spread, even in Italy, of Covid-19. Compared to previous regulatory interventions, the decree in question is characterized by a more systematic approach, regulating different aspects of the life of families and businesses, unlike the fragmentation and sectorialization of the decrees that followed from the end of February to date.
The Cura Italia decree intervenes, in fact, mainly in the following macro-areas:
a) financing and other measures for the strengthening of the National Health System, the Civil Protection and other public bodies involved in the emergency;
b) support to employment and workers for the defence of work and income;
c) credit support for families and micro, small and medium enterprises, through the banking system and the use of the central guarantee fund;
d) suspension of payment obligations for taxes and contributions as well as other fiscal obligations;
e) provision of fiscal incentives for the sanitation of workplaces and rewards for employees who remain in service.
As far as we are concerned, the measures in support of the work are contained in Title II, Chapter I and Chapter II, Articles 19-48. In summary, the measures launched by the Government provide for the possibility of extending the redundancy fund in derogation to the entire national territory, for employees of all productive sectors and following authorization of the competent Regions for each territory.
Employers, including companies with less than 5 employees, who suspend or reduce their work activity "due to events related to the epidemiological emergency by COVID-19, may apply for the granting of the ordinary salary integration treatment or access to the ordinary allowance with causal "COVID-19 emergency", for periods starting from February 23, 2020 for a maximum duration of nine weeks and in any case within the month of August 2020" (art.19, c. 1).
This possibility is also extended to companies that already benefit from the CIGS (as it’s called the extraordinary redundancy fund) (art. 20) and to "employers, enrolled in the Wage Supplement Fund, who at the date of entry into force of Decree 23 February 2020, n. 6, have a solidarity allowance" (art. 21).
Following the regulation of social shock absorbers, the Cura Italia Decree has prepared "special rules on the reduction of working hours and support to workers" (Chapter II), among which stand out provisions on parental leave for the benefit of employees. Working parents, in fact, following the suspension of school service, if they have children no older than 12 years of age or suffering from serious and proven disability, will be able to take parental leave for 15 days additional to 50% of the salary or, alternatively, a bonus for the purchase of baby-sitting services within the limit of € 600 (which becomes € 1,000 for the staff of the National Health Service and law enforcement agencies).
There was also an increase in the "number of days of paid leave" ex art. 33, c. 3, Law 104/1992, which is "... increased by a further twelve days in March and April 2020" (art. 23). In addition, it should not be forgotten that the period spent in quarantine or in permanent home trust with active surveillance for Covid-19 has been assimilated to the disease also for the private sector (as was already provided for public sector workers) and, above all, does not count in the respite care period (periodo di comporto)(art. 26).
Afterwards, the Decree contains the allocation of compensation for different categories of self-employed workers (professionals, “co.co.co.”, professionals registered to the special management of the AGO) and subordinates (agricultural workers and seasonal workers in the tourism and bathing establishments’ sectors), in the measure of 600 euros, on a monthly basis, not taxable ("... does not contribute to the formation of income according to the decree of the President of the Republic 22 December 1986, n. 917") and subject to the principle of incumulability (cf. art. 31: "The allowances referred to in articles 27, 28, 29, 30 and 38 are not cumulative and are also not recognized to citizens' income recipients...").
For those excluded from the aforesaid compensation, including professionals enrolled in the orders is established a fund for “income of last resort” (Article 44, c. 1), with an endowment of 300 million euros as a residual fund.
In addition, for workers entitled to access the NASpI (the old unemployment benefit) - i.e. those who, not of their own volition, have lost their jobs - and DIS-COLL, the deadlines for submitting applications to INPS (provided for, under penalty of forfeiture by Legislative Decree No. 22/2015) have been "extended from sixty-eight to one hundred and twenty-eight days".
The measures to promote the use of Smart Work are also interesting (already governed by Law 22.05.2017 n. 81 and looked favorably in previous emergency legislative interventions).
In fact "until the date of April 30, 2020, employees with disabilities under the conditions set forth in Article 3, paragraph 3, of Law No. 104 of February 5, 1992" or who have a disabled person in their household under the conditions set forth in Article 3, paragraph 3, of Law No. 104 of February 5, 1992, have the right to perform work in agile mode ...., provided that this mode is compatible with the characteristics of the performance" while "workers in the private sector suffering from serious and proven diseases with reduced working capacity is given priority in accepting requests to perform work in agile mode ...".
After the discipline of the suspension of the activities of the Central and Peripheral Committees of the INPS until 01.06.2020 (art. 41) and the suspension of the terms of forfeiture and prescription "relating to requests for benefits provided by INAIL" from 23.02.2020 to 01.06.2020 (art. 42), a rule of considerable practical impact, almost at the end of the measures to support the work, is the one contained in art. 46, relating to the "Suspension of the procedures for challenging dismissals”.
In fact, "from the date of entry into force of this decree, the initiation of the procedures referred to in Articles 4, 5 and 24 of Law no. 223 of 23 July 1991 is precluded for 60 days and during the same period pending procedures initiated after the date of 23 February 2020 are suspended".
The above applies to procedures for collective dismissal, but also for individual dismissals has been provided that "until the expiration of the above deadline, the employer, regardless of the number of employees, may not terminate the contract for justified objective reason under Article 3 of Law No. 604 of July 15, 1966".
Finally, with regard to measures to support work, although placed in the "Tax measures to support the liquidity of households and businesses", it should be noted the provision of Article 63, thanks to which employees with a total annual income of less than € 40,000 are entitled to a premium (tax-free) "... for the month of March 2020, which does not contribute to the formation of income, equal to 100 euros to be compared to the number of days worked at their place of work in that month". (ET)
