Labour and Employment Comparative Guide

1 Legal framework

1.1 Are there statutory sources of labour and employment law?

The sources of Italian employment law include:

• international treaties and European sources;
• the Constitution, domestic laws and the Italian Civil Code; and
• customs and practices.

Case law is not considered a source of law, since the courts are only supposed to apply existing legislation. However, in practice, case law plays an important role in shaping Italian employment law.

The most important labour laws are:

• Law 300/1970 (the so-called ‘Workers' Statute'), which sets forth rules protecting the freedom and dignity of employees, and the freedom and dignity of trade unions and their activity within the workplace;