Life and disability

Family Welfare

Caregiver will become a job: unlocking for recognition

After the inclusion of funds in the manoeuvre, a bill is on the way to establish remuneration and role. Opposition: meagre resources

by Serena Uccello

27 November 2025

4' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

Key points

The Budget Law
The Bill

4' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

Hiccuously and with an obstacle course, which however now seems to be moving towards a resolution. It is the recognition of the figure of the "caregivers", that is, of those 7 million people who daily assist more than 4 million of disabled people and non-self-sufficient. After the inclusion in the Budget Bill of an article (Article 53) that provides for a 'Fund for legislative initiatives to support the role of care and assistance of family caregivers', in recent days the Minister for Disability, Alessandra Locatelli, announced an ad hoc bill. Currently, in fact, there is no national law that recognises and protects the role of caregivers. Instead, local politics has been more present, with 12 regions taking action to regulate this figure. On the whole, no decisive breakthrough so far, with the exception of law 205/2017 and a dedicated fund in 2020 to support the care and assistance role of family caregivers, with allocations that, the associations have complained, have always remained insufficient compared to real needs.

Caregiver, arriva il riconoscimento come lavoro

The Budget Law

In detail, Article 53 of the manoeuvre - now at the Senate for approval at first reading - provides for resources amounting to 1.15 million for 2026 and 207 million from 2027, to finance 'legislative initiatives in support of the family caregiver's role of care and assistance'. These are resources that in the aftermath of the presentation of the Budget Bill were branded as meagre, in relation to the needs of such a wide audience, both by Loredana Ligabue, secretary of Carer, and by Isabella Mori, Cittadinanzattiva's caregiver manager. The starting point of the criticism focuses on the fact that caregivers, with their daily presence, take on and solve structural deficiencies of the public system, generating an economic value between 2.5 and 3% of the Italian GDP with their support and care activities. Also in the crosshairs, given the wording of the article, is the failure to define the allocation of resources and their destination.

L’IDENTIKIT

The Bill

The Minister for Disability, Alessandra Locatelli, who in recent days has announced the long-awaited breakthrough, namely the presentation of a bill whose process will begin in January, after the approval of the manoeuvre, with the presentation in the Council of Ministers. The text lays down the definition of a family 'caregiver', which is 'the person who assists and cares for a spouse, other party to the civil union or de facto cohabiting partner', or 'a relative or a relative by the second degree' or 'a relative by the third degree'.

Moreover, it introduces a system of differentiated protections distinguishing between:

a) prevalent family caregiver with a care load of 91 hours or more per week living with a dependent person;

b) family caregiver living with the assisted person with a care load of 30 hours or more and less than 91 hours per week;

c) family caregiver not living with the assisted person with a care load of 30 hours per week or more;

d) family caregiver cohabiting or not cohabiting with the assisted person with a care load of ten hours or more per week and less than 30 hours per week.

Finally, the rule determines economic support for those who have an Isee threshold of 15 thousand euro, who do not work or, if they do, do not earn an income of more than 3 thousand euro gross per year. At the beginning, the quarterly amount will be up to EUR 1,200.

And this is where the 207 million coverage provided for in the Budget Bill comes into play (although the intention is to set the coverage at 257 million, using 50 million from the Fund for policies in favour of people with disabilities), but also the criticism. For the minister, who spoke on the subject during question time at the Chamber of Deputies on 19 November, the coverage of 207 million is "a starting point, on which to work together because for ten years families have been waiting". In fact, in the last ten years 'some thirty caregiver bills have been presented that have not seen the light of day'.

At the moment, however, the structure of the text does not convince the opposition. According to Davide Faraone, vice-president of Italia Viva and former signatory of one of those thirty texts, 'a quality leap in care is needed'.

The crux for Faraone is the juridical recognition of this figure: 'It is not a question of giving a poverty income to those who assist'; a step forward on the road to recognition, in this case, economic would have been to also give 'the possibility of accumulating social security contributions'.

Another divisive issue is the involvement of the associations because if the minister defines the bill as 'the result of the work of a table of more than 50 subjects including families, associations, local authorities, trade unions', Marco Furfaro pD deputy and group leader in the Social Affairs Committee, says instead that "the executive's caregiver plan is not shared with the associations that are further humiliated" since "it will take 91 hours of care per week, 400 hours per month to get a contribution on a very limited Isee basis".

Serena Uccellovicecaposervizio
- @serenauccello
Luogo: milano
Argomenti: Cultura, letteratura, social media editor
Premi: Marco Formenton, Indicam, Città di Como
Scheda autore
Trust project