Oncology: instructions for redeeming additional leave at the patient’s expense
INPS circular on the 24-month period commencing from the end of other periods of authorised absence: the rate in force at the time of the application will apply
Key points
Law No. 106 of 18 July 2025 was published in the Official Gazette No. 171 of 25 July 2025, containing “Provisions concerning job security and paid leave for medical examinations and treatment for workers suffering from cancer, disabling and chronic illnesses”, which, in Article 1(1), provides, for employees of public or private employers suffering from cancer or disabling or chronic illnesses, including rare conditions, resulting in a degree of disability of 74 per cent or more, a period of leave, either continuous or split into periods, not exceeding twenty-four months. During the period of leave, the employee retains their job, but is not entitled to pay and may not carry out any kind of work.
It may be possible to claim back periods of leave
With regard to social security matters, which remain suspended for the duration of the leave, the INPS, in Circular No. 108/2026, has indicated that workers on leave who are suffering from cancer may, in any event, ‘redeem’ the period of leave by paying the relevant contributions. The INPS also specifies that the period eligible for redemption must not be covered by compulsory, notional, voluntary or previously redeemed contributions, not only with the social security fund to which the application is submitted, but also under any other form of compulsory social security scheme (including funds for the self-employed and the European Union’s social security system, or the individual social security schemes of the various Member States or affiliated countries). This, explains INPS, is additional leave on top of that already provided for by law under Law 104 and Law 388, as provided for by the 2025 regulations, which takes effect once other periods of justified absence, with or without pay, to which the employee is entitled on any grounds whatsoever.
The redemption fee is substantial and is payable by the employee
This requirement, however, exacerbates the financial and psychological circumstances of a patient suffering from a serious medical condition and who is, as a result, unable to work and earn a living. It would have been appropriate to include periods of this specific leave within the social security provisions covering non-contributory imputed contributions, such as the leave and absences provided for under Law 104/1992 for severe disability or for illness and accidents at work.
Required obligations
The INPS circular also sets out the requirements that workers on leave must meet in order to claim the buy-back, along with the associated charges.
The period covered by the application for pension credit must fall within a period of employment, whether in the public or private sector, during which work was suspended due to the taking of leave. The applicant must, in fact, provide appropriate documentation of the employment relationship, dating from the period of the leave. The application must be submitted to the social security fund to which contributions for the period of employment – which includes the period of leave – have been credited. The periods covered by the redemption are necessarily assessed in accordance with the rules of the ‘contributory system’.
