The impact of COVID-19 crisis on Italian labour law

The Italian response to the Covid-19 crisis involved a general lockdown of all non- essential activities, accompanied by significant labour law and social security meas- ures. The overall idea behind the Government’s action has been that of safeguarding, as far as practicable, the employment level and workers/families income, notwith- standing the sharp slowdown of business and professional activities. For that purpose, a temporary block of dismissals for economic reasons has been issued, combined with an almost mandatory use of remote work, whenever feasible, and a massive recourse to short-time work compensation schemes. Other measures have involved financial support for the self-employed, extraordinary leaves for parents to cope with schools closure, and special health and safety measures when work is to be performed within the employer’s premises.