Hiring in Italy

The terms set out role, CCNL and job level, salary in EUR, working time, leave, notice and any restrictive covenants. The EOR is the counterparty to the employee, which is what removes the need for your own entity.

Contracts are normally issued in Italian or as bilingual Italian and English documents.

Fixed-term contracts run up to 12 months without a stated reason and up to 24 months with a justified one, and most EORs default to indefinite terms.

Set probation from day one in the signed contract. It cannot run past the CCNL maximum, although sickness, injury and parental leave pause the clock.

On fixed-term contracts probation is shortened in proportion to the contract length. Ask which CCNL the EOR will apply before you agree a start date.

Overtime premiums typically range from about 15% to 50% depending on the CCNL, with a statutory cap of 250 hours a year unless the agreement sets another limit.

Executives (dirigenti) sit outside most working time rules, so overtime becomes a contractual matter for them rather than a statutory one. Put the position in writing either way.

Most CCNLs add paid leave hours (ROL and ex-festività) on top of the statutory 4 weeks, often worth around 13 extra days a year, so budget on the CCNL figure.

Sick pay is funded by INPS from the fourth day, with most CCNLs requiring the employer to cover the first three days and top up the rest. Maternity leave runs for 5 months at 80% from INPS and paternity leave for 10 working days, so confirm which top-ups the EOR's CCNL carries.

Dismissal must be in writing and rest on just cause or a justified subjective or objective reason. TFR, the statutory severance fund, is payable on every exit, including resignations, and most dismissals also trigger an employer termination levy (the NASpI ticket).

The EOR runs the process as the legal employer and will want the paperwork in order, including final pay, unused leave, accrued 13th and 14th month pay and TFR. Unfair dismissal awards can reach 36 months' pay, so many exits end in a formal settlement signed before a conciliation body.

A 13th month salary is standard under virtually every CCNL, and some, including commerce, add a 14th. Many CCNLs also make a supplementary health fund compulsory, and private medical cover and meal vouchers are common for professional roles.

EORs often bundle benefits through a group scheme. Ask what is included in the fee and what is billed on top.

Employer contributions add roughly 30% on top of gross salary, depending on sector and headcount, plus TFR accrual of about 6.91% and INAIL premiums. That is before the EOR fee.

Annual salary is the trap. Offers are quoted as gross annual pay (RAL) spread across 13 or 14 payments, so a monthly payslip multiplied by 12 understates the real annual cost.

Ask whether the EOR sponsors directly or refers to a partner. A partner-model EOR often cannot sponsor at all, and most routes compete for annual decreto flussi quota places. Highly skilled hires on an EU Blue Card sit outside the quotas.

EU, EEA and Swiss citizens need no permit. Set start dates after approval, not before.

Get the data processing terms in the service agreement, not just the privacy notice. Transfers outside the EEA need an adequacy decision or standard contractual clauses.

Employee monitoring is tightly restricted under the Workers' Statute, so check before you deploy tracking tools. Ask where payroll data is hosted and who in the partner chain can see it.

Incorporating an S.r.l. needs a notary deed and takes a few weeks, but the running cost is the point: an accountant, a labour consultant, statutory audit thresholds, INPS and INAIL registrations and CCNL compliance set an annual floor.

Permanent establishment risk is about what people do, not where payroll sits. Revenue-generating activity can create exposure regardless of the employment route.