CONSTITUTIONAL COURT: FOUR SPECIFIC REFERENDUM ON LABOR LAW ARE ADMISSIBLE
On February 7, 2025, the Constitutional Court issued four rulings on labor law, declaring that four specific referendums are admissible.
Specifically, with ruling 12/2025, the referendum for the repeal of Legislative Decree No. 23 of March 4, 2015, implementing one of the delegations granted to the Government with the so-called Jobs Act on wrongful dismissals, was declared admissible. The Court clarified that "the circumstance that, following the approval of the abrogative question, the result of an expansion of guarantees for the worker would not occur in all cases of invalidity" of the dismissal, because for some of these (particularly in the case of dismissal of a worker absent due to illness or injury, or dismissed for physical or mental disability when the worker was not actually in such a condition) "there would instead be a reduction in protection."
Secondly, through ruling 13/2025, the Constitutional Court declared admissible the referendum for the repeal of Article 8 of Law No. 604 of July 15, 1966, limited to the words that establish a maximum measure (equal to six months of the last actual global remuneration) for the compensation for wrongful dismissal. As a result, the referendum could lead to an expansion of protections for employees of small businesses hired before March 7, 2025.
Furthermore, in ruling 14/2025, the same Court declared admissible the request for a referendum for the partial repeal of rules (i.e., Article 19, paragraphs 1, 1-bis, and 4, as well as Article 21, paragraph 1 of Legislative Decree No. 81 of June 15, 2015) on the imposition of a term on the employment contract, maximum duration, and conditions for extensions and renewals, which currently allow the stipulation of fixed-term employment contracts (and also their extension and/or renewal) up to one year without having to provide any justification, and, for those of longer duration, based on a justification identified by the parties, even if not provided for by law or collective agreements stipulated by the most representative national trade unions. As a result, the referendum could lead to the necessary reference, for all fixed-term contracts, to the sole justifying causes provided by law or collective agreements.
In conclusion, with ruling 15/2025, the Constitutional Court declared admissible the referendum on the liability of the contracting entrepreneur, i.e., for the repeal of Article 26, paragraph 4 of Legislative Decree No. 81 of April 9, 2008, limited to the words "The provisions of this paragraph do not apply to damages resulting from the specific risks inherent in the activities of the contracting or subcontracting companies." As a result, the referendum could lead to an expansion of the liability of the contracting party in the case of contracts.
