The Council of Ministers on 10 June 2016 approved a legislative decree containing supplementary and corrective provisions to the Jobs Act.

Among the innovations include the ability to transform solidarity contracts “defensive” in “expansive” in order to stimulate job creation in the event that the company adhering to the defensive solidarity registers an improvement in its business situation such as to permit of organic expansion.

The expansive solidarity contracts shall be of collective agreements pursuant to art. 51 of Legislative Decree 81/2015 (the national collective agreements, territorial or company, stipulated by trade unions comparatively representative at national level) and are intended to increase the workforce.

The expansive contracts must necessarily provide for a reduction in working hours (with a consequent reduction in pay) and the permanent employment of new staff.

Complied with these conditions, employers and employees are granted a range of benefits, which is why this option is attractive.

The mutation in the form “expansive” allows to take advantage of the reduction in contributions, during the first three years, in the misure of 15%, 10% and 5%, or in apprenticeship incentives (decontribution and under-classification). It is noted that this possibility will be for the period of time between the transformation of the contract and its due date.

Another important facility considers TFR: the decree states that the share of termination benefits (related to lost earnings), accrued during the period of solidarity, will be borne by INPS (or a part of the pension management) and employer will be required to pay half of the additional contributions that would have paid with their defensive solidarity. This surely is an interesting aspect because the employer instead of paying in 36 months 9%, 12%, 15% of additional contributions to the shock use, respectively will pay 4.5%, 6%, 7.5 %.