The employee undertakes to carry out the (intellectual or manual) work in question, against payment of a remuneration corresponding with the type of work, under the authority and super-vision of the employer.
A written document is not compulsory for permanent contracts; on the other hand, it is stipulated for fixed-term contracts, training-cum-work contracts and other specific contracts.
Duration of the contract: there are fixed-term contracts and permanent contracts.
Obligations of the parties: performing the work entails the following rights and duties of the two parties.
The employee is under an obligation:
- to personally perform the work;
- to act in accordance with the conditions stipulated in the contract;
- to take care of the working tools;
- to be loyal;
- not to undertake any activity competing with the employer;
- not to divulge any information relating to the organisation and to the production methods of the company or to make use of it in such a way as to harm the employer;
- to obey orders.
The employer is under an obligation:
- to ensure that the employee is in a position to fulfil his/her function;
- to take the necessary steps to ensure that the working conditions do not harm the physical, psycho-logical or moral well-being of the employee;
- to take the necessary steps to prevent accidents in the workplace;
- to pay the remuneration under the conditions agreed;
- to assign the employee to those duties for which he/she has been hired;
- to provide the employee with information (Law 608/96, Art. 9 bis: since 1 January 1996 employ-ers have been obliged to provide their employees on the date of recruitment with a signed document detailing the data contained in the employment register).
The employee's responsibility: The employee is responsible both from the civil and the penal point of view for any damage he/she might cause to the employer or to third parties in performing his/her job.
The employer's responsibility: The employer is penally responsible in the event of accidents in the workplace and occupational illnesses which affect his/her employees, and is also subject to a civil responsibility if the behaviour which caused the damage was the act of one of his/her employees.
2.2.1. Termination of the individual employment contract:
- the expiry of the term fixed in the contract;
- the completion of the task;
- the death of one of the parties;
- just cause.
The permanent contract comes to an end through:
- just cause;
- resignation subject to notice;
- dismissal subject to notice;
- inability to carry out the work assigned;
- the death of one of the parties;
- the employee reaching retirement age.
However, any clauses providing for termination of the employment contract on the grounds of marriage or pregnancy are null and void.
2.2.2. Collective dismissals
Collective dismissals originate in the contract and are based on inter-confederation agreements.
The difference between collective dismissals and individual dismissals is the number of employees dismissed as well as the reasons for the dismissal itself, which is allowed in the case of downturn or change in the activities or work of the company. This concerns compa-nies with more than 15 employees.
The employer must justify the collective dismissal and must communicate this to the trade union organisations.
The dismissed employees have the right to be rehired if the employer recruits new personnel within one year.
In order to alleviate the negative effects of collective dismissal, a body called the Wage Compensation Fund (Cassa Integrazione Guadagni) was created with the fundamental aim of protecting employees' wages in the event of a company experiencing a crisis or undergoing restructuring.
2.2.3. The contract of employment:
The contract of employment: differences between wage-earners (blue-collar workers) and salaried employees (white-collar workers)
The general provisions relating to the employment contract apply equally to both. The difference between them is that under the contract of employment, the wage-earner carries out mainly manual work while the salaried employee performs mainly intellectual work.
This is nevertheless a distinction which henceforth will be outdated and inadequate. Collective bargaining has effecti-vely resulted in a new system of vocational classification which provides for a single framework subdivided into a certain number of "levels" which are common to the various categories existing under the law.
2.2.4. Trial period
The trial period helps both the employer and the employee to check whether it is useful to continue the labour relationship. During this period, each of the two parties may terminate the contract at any time without notice or obligation to provide compensation.
The length of this period is fixed by collective agreement and may in no case exceed the maximum limit of six months fixed by law.
2.2.5. Notice
Dismissal and resignation may be made known at any time during the period in which the permanent employment contract is valid, provided that notice is given as laid down in the collective agreement. If this is not observed, the defaulting party must pay the other party compensation equal to the amount of payment due corresponding to the period of notice. This obligation does not apply to dismissal or resignation with just cause, or in cases in which circumstances do not permit even provisional continuation of the employment contract.
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