Here is a summary of the most important new provisions:
- Starting on 4 May 2020, more business activities will be allowed to reopen. In particular, certain commercial and personal care activities can go back to business, provided that they comply with health and safety measures, including social distancing (1 meter between individuals). We can help employers check if their local activity can resume: feel free to reach out to your Baker McKenzie contact (emails at the bottom of this newsletter);
- Starting 27 April 2020, employers who can reopen on 4 May 2020 will be allowed to carry out all those activities that are necessary to prepare for reopening (e.g., sanitizing the company’s premises);
- Employers that will be allowed to reopen will comply with all health and safety measures called for by two protocols (you can read more on these here) as well as in specific protocols applicable to the industrial sector they belong to. Failure to comply with these measures may result in the suspension of the business;
- All business activity, even if still suspended, can continue to be performed remotely or through smart working;
- Employees or delegated third parties are entitled to access the business premises of suspended businesses in order to perform surveillance and maintenance activities, make payments, as well as clean and sanitize the premises. In these cases, companies must inform the local government office (i.e., “Prefettura”).
- The shipment of goods in stock to third parties, as well as the receipt in shipped goods and supplies, is allowed, upon communication to the “Prefettura”.
In addition to this new decree, on 24 April 2020, the so-called “Cure Italy” decree (please see our previous newsletter here) was confirmed by the Italian Parliament. A few amendments were made to the previous text of the decree, namely:
- all employees hired after 24 February 2020 can now benefit from government salary support via a social shock absorber;
- union consultation to access two of two social shock absorbers, CIGO and FIS, is no longer required for businesses that are suspended due to Covid-19 measures.
Please note that individual and collective dismissals for business reasons remain prohibited until 18 May 2020. An extension of this ban is currently under discussion.
