Normal working hours: 40 hours (and what the collective agreement sets)
The ordinary working week is 40 hours, normally spread over 5 or 6 days. The law does not set its own daily cap: the limit comes from the 11 hours of rest between shifts, which leaves a practical maximum of 13 hours per day.
National collective agreements (CCNL) may set fewer hours. Banking, insurance and several office sectors work 37.5-38 hours, and almost all define the actual working hours for their activity. Before opening a vacancy, the CCNL for your sector is the first essential read.
The limits that cannot be negotiated: 48 hours and 11 hours of rest
The week cannot exceed 48 hours on average, including overtime, calculated over a four-month period that the collective agreement may extend to twelve. This is Italy's transposition of the European directive, and the labour inspectorate monitors it through working time records.
Daily rest is 11 consecutive hours in every 24, and weekly rest is 24 consecutive hours, in principle on Sunday. Together, they guarantee 35 hours of continuous rest each week.
Overtime: the 250-hour limit
Unless a collective agreement says otherwise, the worker is not obliged to work more than 250 hours of overtime per year. The collective agreement may set a different limit, and each CCNL defines the premium: usually a percentage on top of the normal hourly rate, higher on public holidays and night work, or compensatory rest.
Overtime is recorded separately in the payslip and has its own line in the labour cost. This is a point where it is advisable to put the rules in writing, because the sector's collective agreement may require minimums that the individual contract cannot reduce.
Breaks and night work
When the working day exceeds 6 hours, the worker is entitled to a break, under the terms set by the collective agreement. In practice, a 30 to 60-minute lunch break is widespread in offices and retail.
Night work, from 24:00 to 5:00, has its own regime: night hours cannot exceed 8 hours on average in each 24, and collective agreements usually add a premium. There are protected groups, such as minors and pregnant workers, who cannot work at night.
Holidays: four mandatory weeks
The legal minimum is 4 weeks per year, around 20 working days in a five-day week. Two of those weeks must be taken within the year in which they are accrued and the other two within the following 18 months; the collective agreement may increase the total, and many sectors give 22 to 26 days.
On top of holidays there are the 11 national public holidays and the patron saint's day of each city, plus two costs that do not appear in every country: the December tredicesima and the TFR, which accrues at 6.91% of annual gross pay and is paid when the employment relationship ends.
What to check before hiring in Italy
The cost of hiring in Italy does not end with gross pay plus contributions. Between the December extra payment and the TFR, each employee adds around 14% extra per year that must be budgeted from the first contract.
Key points
- Applicable CCNL: sets the actual working hours, overtime premium and holidays above the minimum
- Working time records: mandatory and reviewed by the labour inspectorate
- Tredicesima and TFR: together they add around 14% to annual labour cost
- Shifts and night work: check the collective agreement rules before setting schedules
