Employment - More flexibility for recruitment and labour contracts

During 2003, Italy updated its legislation with regard to labour relations and the meeting point between labour demand and supply, through the so-called "Biagi Reform". This reform has been realised in order to allow businesses to better adapt the organisation and the number of their human resources to changes in the economy and the variations of economic cycles.

Today, new labour contracts allow firms a more flexible management of their procedures for selection and acquisition of professional skills. The new contracts also allow workers more opportunities for work/life balance, to the benefit of the quality of their work. Over the last few years, the Italian labour market has evolved with the emergence of new attitudes of workers to different forms of work/types of contracts and a progressive diminution of long term contracts in favour of temporary relationships and more streamlined relationships, as well as greater mobility of the workforce from one firm to another and from one economic sector to another.

One worker in three is employed with an atypical contract, defined as one which does not govern a traditional full time and permanent employee relationship. Following the reform in 2003, it is estimated that at least seven million workers will be employed by such contracts.