Agile work and leave, new ruling on southern decontribution and single certification extension

The right to agile work or Covid leave is triggered for a period corresponding to the duration of the suspension of educational activity in the presence of the child, the duration of any infection contracted by the child, or for the period of quarantine of the child ordered by the ASL, as follows:

• the parent of cohabiting child under the age of 16 who is an employee, alternating with the other parent, may perform work in agile mode for a period corresponding in whole or in part to the duration of the suspension of educational activity in the presence of the child, the duration of the child's COVID-19 SARS infection, as well as the duration of the child's quarantine ordered by the territorially competent local health authority following contact wherever it occurred
• in the only cases in which the work performance cannot be carried out in agile mode, the employed parent of a cohabiting child under the age of 14, alternating with the other parent, may abstain from work for a period corresponding in whole or in part to the duration of the suspension of the child's in-presence educational activity, the duration of the child's SARS Covid-19 infection, and the duration of the child's quarantine. This benefit is also granted to parents of children with disabilities in a situation of ascertained seriousness, enrolled in schools of all levels for which the suspension of educational activity in attendance has been ordered or housed in day care centers of an assisted character for which the closure has been ordered. For such periods of abstention, an allowance equal to 50 percent of salary (not to be added to the daily accrual relating to the Christmas bonus or thirteenth month's pay), covered by notional contributions, is recognized by INPS
• any periods of parental leave taken by parents as of January 1, 2021, and until the effective date of the Decree, during the periods of suspension of educational activity in the presence of the child, duration of the child's Covid-19 SARS infection, and duration of the child's quarantine, may be converted to the above leave on application
• in the case of children between the ages of 14 and 16 years, one of the parents, alternately with the other, has the right, to abstain from work without payment of pay or allowance or recognition of figurative contribution, with prohibition of dismissal and the right to job retention
• self-employed workers for cohabiting children under the age of 14 may choose the payment of one or more bonuses, disbursed through the Libretto famiglia, for the purchase of babysitting services up to an overall maximum limit of 100 euros per week, to be used for services carried out for cases of suspension of educational activity in the presence of the child and quarantine
• for the days on which one parent performs agile work or takes leave of or does not perform any work activity or is suspended from work, the other parent cannot take advantage of the abstention or bonus, unless he or she is also a parent of other children under the age of 14 years old had by other persons who are not taking advantage of any of the measures described above.

The measures described apply until June 30, 2021(!). 

In anticipation of the Supports Decree-Law, with press release 49 of March 13, the Ministry of Economy announced the extension from March 16 to March 31 of the deadline to deliver the synthetic single certification to the recipient and to transmit the ordinary one to the tax administration.

All other related deadlines are slipping accordingly, and in particular the deadline by which all external parties (social security institutions, banks, insurance companies, etc.) must send to the Revenue the data useful for preparing the pre-filled return, which will be made available to the taxpayer on May 10 instead of April 30, is postponed to March 31.

Companies therefore have an extra 15 days to reconcile the numerous data managed in 2020 and summarized in the single certification, and where, in the course of deepening controls, the substitutes should ascertain the need to intervene on certifications already sent telematically, the extension to March 31 gives the opportunity to send by that date a cancellation or a replacement flow, subject to the appropriate flag in the title page.

Please note that cancellation and/or replacement flows may only contain Cu to be cancelled or replaced.

This was ruled by the Lazio Regional Administrative Court, section three quater, in its decree 1604/2021 of March 15 in the face of an appeal filed by Adecco Italia.

Southern decontribution was introduced by Decree-Law 104/2020 regarding the October-December period last year and extended by Budget Law 2021 until 2029.

Until 2025, it provides a 30 percent discount on company contributions for any employee whose place of employment is located in Abruzzo, Basilicata, Calabria, Campania, Molise, Puglia, Sardinia, and Sicily.

The Social Security Institute, however, in its Message 72/2021 (referring to 2020) and Circular 32/2021 for this year, clarified that in the case of administered labor as the place of employment detects the agency that hires the worker, consequently, the relief cannot be granted if the employee is "formally hinged" with an agency located in a region other than the disadvantaged regions, even if he or she is then sent on a mission to one of those areas.

The Lazio Regional Administrative Court suspended the operation of the message and circulars (including 122/2020) until the April 9 council chamber, in the parts referring to administration.

Moreover, the Inps guidance on the use of this relief has already been subject to suspension by the Regional Administrative Court in relation to the way in which the relief is applied to the 13th month payment made in 2020.