Labour Decree Becomes Law

On 3 July 2023, the so-called Labor Decree (Law Decree No. 48/2023) became law (). The main changes, from an employment law perspective, concern fixed-term contracts and provisions on working from home ("smart working"). As for fixed-term contracts, it is now possible to exceed the duration of 12 months (but still within the maximum 24-month timeframe limit) in the following cases (a) those provided for by collective agreements; (b) those provided for by company collective agreements, and on technical, organisational or productive grounds identified by the parties (until 30 April 2024); and (c) replacement of other employees. Still within the maximum time frame of 12 months, fixed-term contracts may be freely extended or renewed, even without grounds. With regard to smart working, "simplified" arrangements were extended for certain categories of employees, i.e. for so-called "fragile" employees (until 30 September 30 2023), for "super-fragile" employees (until 31