New draft of the Work Decree: incentive to stabilise precarious workers (with short contracts) pops up

In the new version of the decree on labour, expected in the next few hours in the Cdm, a new incentive for those who stabilise fixed-term contracts appears. Not only. It changes the rule on incentives for companies pushing for work-life balance and skips the refinancing of the New Skills Fund. But let us proceed in order.

In order to strengthen stable youth employment, private employers who transform fixed-term employment relationships, with an overall duration not exceeding twelve months, into open-ended employment relationships are granted, for a maximum period of twenty-four months, a 100% contribution exemption up to a maximum amount of €500 on a monthly basis, for each employee. The benefit is granted exclusively to the transformation of fixed-term employment relationships, for non-managerial personnel, and of an overall duration, at the date of transformation, not exceeding twelve months, who, at the same date, have not completed their 35th year of age and have never been employed on a permanent basis. The exemption applies to transformations carried out from 1 August 2026 to 31 December 2026, without interruption of fixed-term employment relationships established by 30 April 2026. As with the youth and women's bonuses, the transformations of fixed-term contracts must result in a net increase in employment.

In the latest draft of the Work Decree, there is no longer the provision that refinanced the New Skills Fund with 500 million euros, which is used to support the continuous training of workers (and which has so far yielded exceptional results).

Change the incentive on work-life balance. As part of the actions aimed at supporting the reconciliation of family and work, maternity and paternity, for the year 2026, companies in possession of the certification referred to in Article 8, paragraph 1, letter e) of Legislative Decree no. 184 of 27 November 2025 benefit from the following incentives in relation to promotional activities pertaining to ICE:

a) precedence in the rankings for the participation, within the limit of 20% of the places, of the companies referred to in this article in the national pavilions organised by Agenzia ICE at trade fairs abroad for the first exhibition module, as well as, again limited to one place per initiative, for participation in seminars, workshops, business missions organised by Agenzia ICE in all foreign countries;