Prepared by Marzio Scaglioni and Giulia Baltimora
Starting from the first of January 2022, employers will no longer be able to benefit from the tax concessions provided for the recruitment made in the southern regions, of young workers under the age of 36 and disadvantaged women, who took part from the same date. This is the consequence of the approval by the European Commission of these aid schemes, as part of the “Temporary Framework for State aid measures to support the economy in the current emergency of COVID-19” (the so-called Temporary Framework), temporarily until 31st December 2021.
In this regard, it should be noted that the tax concessions introduced by the Budget Law for 2021 (Law 30 December 2020 n.178) which have allowed private employers, even if they do not assume the nature of entrepreneurs, to be able to hire employees benefiting from important tax reliefs, require further prior authorization by the European Commission in order to be materially used also during 2022.
In particular, it refers to the contribution relief called “South decontribution” as well as the incentives for the recruitment of young people under the age of 36 and disadvantaged women.
In detail, the under 36 contributory exemption referred to in Article 1, paragraphs 10-15, of Law 178/2020, offered the possibility for private employers to be able to hire young people of age with an open-ended employment contract. under 36 years, provided that at the date of the facilitated recruitment they had never been recipients of a permanent contract or with the employer currently interested in hiring them, or with previous employers.
In this regard, it should be noted that the European Commission, with decision C (2021) 6827 final of 16th September 2021, approved the aforementioned exemption for hiring and / or transformations carried out by 31st December 2021, the final deadline for the operation of the Temporary framework.
The INPS message n. 3389 of 7th October 2021, to this effect, explicitly clarified that as regards the permanent hires and / or transformations carried out in the time frame the first of January 2022 – 31st December 2022, the instructions regarding the use of the exemption will be provided at the end of the authorization procedure by the European Commission pursuant to art. 108, paragraph 3, of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.
As for the women’s contribution exemption referred to in Article 1, paragraphs 16-19, of Law 178/2020, confirmed by decision C (2021) 7863 final of 27th October 2021, it is always provided for hiring (term or permanent) and transformations of fixed-term relationships into permanent relationships carried out by 31st December 2021, which allowed private employers to be able to hire women, this time regardless of the personal and residence requirement, provided that the resource concerned by the facilitated hiring was without regular paid employment in the last 24 months.
Also, for the relief for women’s contributions, INPS, with message no. 3809 of 5th November 2021, confirmed the operation of the same for recruitments and / or transformations carried out by 31st December 2021, while for 2022 the instructions regarding the use of the exemption will be provided at the outcome of the authorization procedure by the European Commission pursuant to art. 108, paragraph 3, of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.
The Sud decontribution, governed by Article 1, paragraph 161, of Law 178/2020 was also authorized by the European Commission with Decision C (2021) 1220 until February 18, 2021, which granted the application of the measure until 31st December 2021.
In the INPS circular no. 33 of 22nd February 2021 it is reiterated that the decontribution in question is applicable to employment relationships provided that the workplace is located in one of the following Regions: Abruzzo, Molise, Campania, Basilicata, Sicily, Puglia, Calabria and Sardinia.
For the relief in question, the contribution exemption is equal to:
- 30% of the social security contribution payable by the employer until 31 December 2025;
- 20% of the employer social security contribution for the two-year period 2026 – 2027;
- 10% of the employer’s social security contribution for the two-year period 2028 – 2029.
It should be remembered that both the under 36 and the women’s exemption were both established for the two-year period 2021-2022, while the southern decontribution will remain in force until 2029 with differentiated measures, as indicated above.
Having said all this, the following is a summary of the measures involved, recalling their entry into force and the previous term of usability now no more.
| Measure | Nature of the measure | Beneficiaries | Effective date | Previous usability period | Reference provision (containing operating instructions) |
| Exemption for the employment of women disadvantaged workers | Exemption recognized in the 100%, up to the maximum amount of € 6,000 per year for permanent hiring and transformations of unsubsidized term of working women carried out in the two-year period 2021-2022. | Recognized for all private employers, including agricultural employers. It is not recognized to companies in the financial sector and towards the P.A. | 18th July 2012 | The first of January 2021 – 31st December 2022 | INPS message n. 3809/2021 |
| Youth exemption under 36 | Exemption for permanent hiring and for the transformation of fixed-term contracts in permanent contracts carried out in the two-year period 2021-2022, recognized in the amount of 100%, for a maximum period of 36 months, up to the maximum amount of 6,000 euros per year, with reference to subjects who at the date of the first incentivized hiring they have not completed the thirty-sixth year of age. | Recognized for all private employers, including agricultural employers. It is not recognized to companies in the financial sector and towards the P.A. Furthermore, it cannot be applied to apprenticeship relationships and domestic work contracts. | The first of January 2018 | The first of January 2021 – 31st December 2021 | INPS message n. 3389/2021 |
| South decontribution | Contribution relief for Employment in disadvantaged areas foreseen for i employment relationships provided that the place of work is located in one of the following countries: Abruzzo, Basilicata, Calabria, Campania, Molise, Puglia, Sardinia and Sicily. | Recognized to all private employers, with the exception of the agricultural sector and employers who enter into employment contracts domestic, as well as sectors expressly excluded by the relevant legislation. | 14th October 2020 | The first of January 2021 – 31st December 2021 | INPS Circular no. 33/2021 |
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