From 1 January 2026

Leave of up to 24 months and additional paid leave, how 104 changes for the 'frail'

The very recent Law 106/2025 is part of a functional integration framework with Law 104/1992, extending protection to workers with serious illnesses and introducing more flexible and inclusive reconciliation tools.

by Barbara Garbelli

24 October 2025

5' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

5' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

La legge 106/2025 (Gazzetta Ufficiale n. 171/2025, entrata in vigore il 9 agosto 2025), costituisce un significativo potenziamento del sistema di protezione per i lavoratori affetti da patologie oncologiche, invalidanti o croniche, nonché delle garanzie per le loro famiglie. Il Legislatore ha inteso infatti aggiornare e integrare la cornice normativa tradizionalmente individuata nella legge 104/1992 (legge quadro sulla disabilità), mantenendone vigore ed efficacia, ma elevandone le tutele e ampliando l’orizzonte applicativo. Con ciò, la legge 106/2025 non sostituisce la 104/1992, ma la affianca e ne estende la portata in chiave moderna, rispondendo alle mutate esigenze del mondo del lavoro e della salute.

The new legislation, aimed both at employees in the public and private sectors and, to some extent, at the self-employed on a continuing basis, has two main strands: on the one hand, job preservation for those suffering from serious illness, and on the other, the recognition of paid leave for treatment, visits and examinations. In addition, there is the promotion of academic merit in the health sector through the establishment of degree awards.

Serious Illness Leave and Continuity of Employment

Article 1 of the law states that employees, whether public or private, suffering from oncological diseases or disabling or chronic pathologies - including rare ones - that lead to a degree of disability equal to or greater than 74%, may request a period of leave, either continuous or fractioned, up to a maximum of twenty-four months. During this period, the employee retains his or her job, although he or she is not entitled to remuneration and cannot carry out any work activity, including self-employment.

The measure is compatible with any other economic or legal benefits to which the worker may be entitled, and takes effect only after all other periods of justified absence, with or without pay, to which the worker is entitled 'for any reason', have been exhausted. The period of leave does not count either for seniority or for social security purposes; however, the worker may redeem it by making voluntary contributions, in accordance with the rules in force on voluntary continuation of service.

Finally, the law is without prejudice to the provisions of collective bargaining or regulations applicable to the relationship, in the sense that more favourable conditions may be laid down.

Medical Certification and Checks

For the purpose of recognising the right to extraordinary leave, Article 1(2) requires certification from the general practitioner or a specialist working in a public or accredited private healthcare facility. The provision provides for the use of the data contained in the Health Insurance Card System and in the Electronic Health Record, in accordance with the procedures laid down by the legislation in force.

Paragraph 3 extends the protection to continuous self-employed workers (referred to in Article 14(1) of Law No. 81 of 22 May 2017 'Measures for the protection of non-entrepreneurial self-employment'), allowing for the suspension of the service for a period not exceeding three hundred days per calendar year when the conditions referred to in paragraph 1 are met. This is a recognition of the specificity of self-employment and its vulnerability in the presence of serious pathologies.

At the end of the leave period, Paragraph 4 provides that the employee has the right to access, with priority, the modality of agile work (smart working) - where the service allows it - pursuant to Chapter II of Law 81/2017. This provision reflects a logic of organisational inclusion and flexibility at the service of the individual.

Additional paid leave for visits, examinations and medical treatment

Article 2 of Law 106/2025 introduces an additional provision in favour of workers suffering from oncological diseases in the active phase or in early follow-up, or from disabling or chronic pathologies - including rare ones - with a minimum degree of disability of 74 per cent. These persons, subject to medical prescription, are entitled, as of 1 January 2026, to ten hours of additional annual paid leave, in addition to the protections already provided by the regulations in force (first and foremost Law 104/1992) and by collective agreements. The right is also recognised for employees with a minor child suffering from the same pathologies.

The hours of leave apply to visits, instrumental examinations, chemical-clinical and microbiological analyses as well as frequent treatment. During such use, the allowance provided for cases of serious illness requiring life-saving treatment, together with the notional coverage for social security purposes, is payable.

In the private sector, the allowance is advanced by the employer and subsequently recovered by means of an adjustment with social security contributions; in the public sector, a specific replacement measure for school staff is envisaged, with costs estimated at EUR 1,240,000 per year as of 2026, to be borne by the Fund for the Improvement of the Educational Offer.

Promotion of research and enhancement of academic merit

Article 3 establishes, in the estimate of the Ministry for Universities and Research, a fund of two million euros per year starting from the year 2026, for the establishment and awarding of degree prizes dedicated to the memory of patients suffering from oncological diseases. The recipients are students graduating in medicine and surgery, biological sciences, biotechnology, pharmacy, chemistry and pharmaceutical technologies or health professions. A decree of the Minister for Universities and Research, to be adopted within ninety days of the law coming into force and in agreement with the Minister for the Economy and Finance, will define the requirements, merit parameters and the procedures for the establishment and awarding of prizes.

Digital Innovation and Inps Infrastructure

Article 4 provides for the development and adaptation of the technological infrastructure of the Istituto Nazionale della Previdenza Sociale (Inps), authorising an expenditure of €500,000 for the year 2026 and €20,000 annually starting from 2027, with a corresponding charge ensured by reducing the Fund referred to in Article 1, paragraph 200, of Law No. 190 of 23 December 2014. The objective is to support the implementation of the law through adequate information systems, ensuring the traceability, efficiency and timeliness of the applications and disbursements.

A reform of civilisation

With Law 106/2025, the legislator rewrote the grammar of the protection of workers with serious illnesses, updating the historic Law 104/1992 to the needs of a flexible, digital and inclusive labour market.

The new system introduces an evolved balance between the right to health and employment continuity: leave of up to twenty-four months, priority in access to agile work and additional paid leave represent instruments of legal civilisation, that shift the focus from 'illness as an absence' to 'frailty as a condition to be integrated'.

For companies and labour consultants, the reform imposes a cultural leap: transforming administrative management into a policy of organisational wellbeing, capable of combining productivity and human dignity. This is an opportunity to rethink company policies and collective bargaining, so that the company becomes a vector of protection and not simply a subject of compliance. Law 106/2025 is part of a framework of functional integration with Law 104/1992, extending protection to workers with serious pathologies and introducing more flexible and inclusive reconciliation tools.