Labour disputes on the rise. But specialisation moves at two speeds

The steady increase in new labour and welfare disputes in the Italian courts, which has continued since 2022, in contrast to the general trend in civil litigation, which fell by almost 9% between 2019 and 2025, brings one of the crucial activities of labour and welfare lawyers back into vogue, alongside advice to companies, which is also essential for preventing disputes.

According to data recently released by the Ministry of Justice, there were 317,274 labour and social security cases arriving in Italian courts in 2025, up 1% compared to the previous year and 4.2% compared to 2019, i.e. the pre-Covid period. Driving the number of disputes, there is mainly public employment (school and health in the lead), but cases relating to dismissals in the private sector are also growing (+11.5% compared to 2024).

According to lawyer Tatiana Biagioni, president of Agi, the association of Italian labour lawyers, there are some areas of labour litigation that are destined to increase. 'For example,' she explains, 'the recent decisions of the Cassation on the Naspi in the case of resignation for just cause, with the need to prove the existence of this just cause in order to access the benefit, represent an orientation that could lead litigation to grow. In my opinion, disputes concerning resignation by conclusive facts are also destined to increase, following the introduction of the new procedure provided for by Law 203/2024. In view of my professional experience,' he continues, 'I believe that a non-negligible part of the litigation will continue to concern the compatibility of the provisions of collective bargaining agreements on remuneration with the provisions of Article 36 of the Constitution on the requirements of sufficiency and proportionality of the same. Finally, the transposition of EU directive 2023/970 on equal pay for men and women for equal work or work of equal value will have an impact on company organisation but could also have an impact on litigation'.

The issue of the adequacy of wages and collective agreements applied has been brought back to the centre of public debate by the Labour Decree of 30 April (Decree 62/2026), which dedicates Title II to a series of provisions on fair wages. 'I believe that labour lawyers play a fundamental role in the fight against contractual dumping,' continues President Biagioni, 'certainly with actions in court, but also out of court, to verify the compliance of wages with Article 36 of the Constitution, and to ensure that 'quality' collective agreements are applied in companies and not the so-called 'pirate' contracts, artfully constructed to lower wages and protections. Moreover, the issue of the representativeness of trade union organisations is a central aspect that we will discuss in depth at our national event in Lecce from 22 to 24 October' (the title of the next Agi national conference is 'Il lavoro che verrà. Governance and participation', www.convegnoagi2026.com).

The specialisation path for labour lawyers, which started last year in line with the rules on the specialisation of lawyers, continues at double speed. A subject that has been regulated since 2015 but with a path that from a regulatory point of view has only stabilised since 2022.