What is the disability hiring quota in Italy?
Law 68 of 1999 requires Italian employers with 15 or more employees to have a set number of workers with disabilities on their staff. The scheme, called targeted placement (collocamento mirato), is run by the public employment offices, which match employers with people registered on the disability lists.
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- 15 to 35 employees: one worker with a disability;
- 36 to 50 employees: two workers;
- more than 50 employees: 7% of the workforce.
Not every employee counts towards the headcount used to calculate the quota, and some roles are left out altogether, such as travelling staff in transport and site staff in construction.
Deadlines and paperwork
An employer must ask the employment office to fill the quota within 60 days of the obligation arising, for example when its headcount passes a threshold. Employers covered by the law also send an online information return (prospetto informativo) listing their workforce and the workers counted towards the quota, but only when something has changed since the last return that affects the obligation. An agreement with the employment office (convenzione) can spread the hiring over time.
Exemptions and penalties
Employers whose activity makes it hard to employ the full quota can apply for a partial exemption, paying €39.21 per working day for each worker not hired. Employers with staff in high-risk work, with an INAIL premium rate of 60 per thousand or more, can self-certify the exemption for those staff and pay the contribution.
Once the 60 days have passed, an employer that leaves the quota uncovered owes a penalty of five times the exemption contribution: €196.05 for each working day and each missing worker. Sending the information return late costs €702.43, plus €34.02 for each further day of delay.
The quota when you hire through an EOR
When you hire through TopSource as your Employer of Record in Italy, your employees are counted in the legal employer’s Italian headcount, not yours, so the quota, the information return and any exemption are handled by the legal employer.
Frequently asked questions
When does the disability hiring quota apply in Italy?
From 15 employees. Employers with 15 to 35 employees must employ one worker with a disability, those with 36 to 50 must employ two, and those with more than 50 must employ 7% of their workforce.
What is the fine for not meeting the quota?
€196.05 for each working day and each missing worker, once 60 days have passed since the obligation arose. It equals five times the €39.21 daily exemption contribution.
Can an employer be exempted from the quota?
Partly. Employers whose activity makes it hard to employ the full quota can apply for a partial exemption and pay €39.21 per working day for each worker not hired.
Related terms in Italy
- Comunicazione Obbligatoria (Italy)
- Libro Unico del Lavoro (Italy)
- Smart Working Agreement (Italy)
- ROL and Ex-Festività Permits (Italy)
- Patto di Non Concorrenza (Italy)
- Employee Categories (Italy)
- Cassa Integrazione (Italy)
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- F24 Payment Form (Italy)
- UniEmens (Italy)