New Hiring Incentive: Facilities for Women in the Labour Market

Also changing is the system of hiring incentives for the other struggling category in the labour market: disadvantaged women. The novelty is contained in the Cohesion Decree. For each 'disadvantaged' woman hired on an open-ended contract from 1 September 2024 until 31 December 2025, 100 per cent exemption from the payment of social security contributions owed by the private employer is recognised in the limit of EUR 650 on a monthly basis (excluding premiums and Inail contributions) for 24 months.

The bonus is granted to women of any age who have not been in regular paid employment for at least six months and who reside in the regions of the Single Southern Zones, or women of any age who have not been in regular paid employment for at least 24 months (wherever they reside).

When the Cohesion Decree was converted into law, it was specified that this incentive is also aimed at women who have not been employed for at least six months, wherever they reside, and who work in professions and sectors with an employment disparity rate at least 25 per cent higher between men and women. Domestic work is also excluded in this case. The estimate contained in the technical report is a total of 100,000 recruitments of female workers between fixed-term contracts and transformations to permanent contracts.

Recruitment incentives must result in a net increase in employment calculated on the basis of the difference between the number of workers employed in each month and the number of workers employed on average in the previous twelve months. For employees with part-time employment contracts, the calculation is weighted according to the ratio between the number of hours agreed and the number of hours that constitute the normal working hours of full-time workers. The increase in the employment base is considered net of decreases in the number of employees occurring in subsidiaries or associates within the meaning of Article 2359 of the Civil Code or belonging, including through intermediaries, to the same person. The exemption under this Article does not apply to domestic work relationships and apprenticeship relationships.