Italy’s Council of Ministers gave final approval on 28 April to the long-awaited ‘Decreto Lavoro’, a package that sets aside almost €1 billion for job-creation incentives but ties access to companies that apply nationally-representative collective contracts—the so-called ‘salario giusto’. Crucially for global-mobility planners, the decree contains the first statutory definition of ‘caporalato digitale’, extending anti-labour-exploitation rules to app-based platforms operating across borders. Riders and freelance couriers subcontracted from abroad must now be hired through platforms that authenticate workers with SPID or CIE two-factor credentials and file posted-worker declarations in Italy’s new Digital Intermediation Register. Multinationals outsourcing last-mile logistics are jointly liable for wage under-payment, echoing Germany’s Lieferkettengesetz supply-chain law and creating new due-diligence obligations for HR and procurement teams. Foreign companies seconding staff to Italian subsidiaries can still benefit from de-social-contribution incentives for young and female hires, but only if they prove that the relevant Italian collective agreement is applied.
![‘Decreto Lavoro’ approved: Italy links hiring incentives to fair-wage contracts and targets cross-border gig exploitation]()
Whether you are a multinational reviewing posted-worker compliance or an individual professional planning a stint in Milan, VisaHQ can streamline the visa and residency paperwork that often accompanies such employment arrangements. Their Italy-dedicated portal (https://www.visahq.com/italy/) offers up-to-date guidance on work permits, Nulla Osta applications and the new digital identity requirements, helping companies and travelers avoid delays while staying aligned with the Decreto Lavoro’s tougher enforcement landscape.
Experts warn that internal expatriate-assignment contracts referencing home-country benchmarks may need to be revised to comply. The labour ministry will issue implementing decrees within 60 days; non-compliant firms face fines up to €50,000 and exclusion from public tenders. With parliamentary conversion expected by end-June, companies should audit vendor relationships—especially crowd-sourced delivery and shared-mobility services—and ensure posted-worker A1 certificates, remuneration statements and time-tracking data are centrally stored. Unions welcomed the anti-dumping provisions, while business association Confindustria said the link between incentives and fair pay “rewards compliant firms and punishes those using low-cost contracts to undercut markets”. International HR consultancies note that the Italian model could influence EU-level discussions on platform-worker rights slated for the second half of 2026.
Whether you are a multinational reviewing posted-worker compliance or an individual professional planning a stint in Milan, VisaHQ can streamline the visa and residency paperwork that often accompanies such employment arrangements. Their Italy-dedicated portal (https://www.visahq.com/italy/) offers up-to-date guidance on work permits, Nulla Osta applications and the new digital identity requirements, helping companies and travelers avoid delays while staying aligned with the Decreto Lavoro’s tougher enforcement landscape.
Experts warn that internal expatriate-assignment contracts referencing home-country benchmarks may need to be revised to comply. The labour ministry will issue implementing decrees within 60 days; non-compliant firms face fines up to €50,000 and exclusion from public tenders. With parliamentary conversion expected by end-June, companies should audit vendor relationships—especially crowd-sourced delivery and shared-mobility services—and ensure posted-worker A1 certificates, remuneration statements and time-tracking data are centrally stored. Unions welcomed the anti-dumping provisions, while business association Confindustria said the link between incentives and fair pay “rewards compliant firms and punishes those using low-cost contracts to undercut markets”. International HR consultancies note that the Italian model could influence EU-level discussions on platform-worker rights slated for the second half of 2026.
