Italy: Pay and benefits

Original author: Massimo Pallini
Updating author: Luciano Racchi

See the legal services provided by the author of International > Italy, including any discounts/offers for subscribers.

Summary

• Pay rates are set by collective agreements or the individual employment contract. (See General)
• Employees are entitled to a 13th-month payment, equal to one-12th of their earnings in the calendar year. (See General)
• Wages must generally be paid monthly, and employers must give employees a written statement of gross wages. (See Payment of wages)
• Save for certain exceptions, employers may not make deductions from employees' wages. (See Deductions)
• Male and female employees must receive equal pay for "like work". (See Equal pay)
• Italy does not have a statutory or agreed national minimum wage, although collective agreements set out minimum rates. (See Minimum wages)
• All employees must be insured under the compulsory state pension scheme, and collective agreements may require the employer to pay a proportion of an employee's wages into an occupational pension scheme. (See Pensions)
• Employers are obliged to deduct income tax from employees' pay. (See Income tax and social security)
• There are various rules regarding pay for employees absent from work due to sickness. (See Sick pay)
• Employees may be remunerated in whole or in part by profit or product sharing, commission or benefits in kind. (see Benefits in kind)