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Refund of the remuneration paid by employers to workers who abstained from work due to operations in mountain or speleological rescue

Publication: 04/03/2022

INPS, at the claim of the employer, reimburses to private companies or institutions/ public administrations the remuneration paid to dependent workers who carry out voluntary activities as part of Corpo Nazionale del Soccorso Alpino e Speleologico (National Mountain Rescue and Speleological Corps) of Club Alpino Italiano (CAI) and in Alpenverein Südtirol (South Tyrol Alpine Club).
The aforementioned volunteers have the right to leave work on the days when they carry out mountain and speleological rescue operations or drills, and are entitled to the entire financial and social security payment.

The refund is paid to private companies or institutions/public administrations required to pay, for the dependent workers concerned, the mandatory pension contributions to INPS and, specifically, to the Dependent Workers’ Pension Fund (FPLD), to the special pension funds or to the exclusive schemes of the Compulsory General Insurance (AGO), and to the special funds ex INPDAP.

Start date and duration

The employer can claim the refund of the payment paid to the volunteer workers for the days of absence for mountain and/or speleological rescue or drills (and for the subsequent day, if the rescue operation lasted more than eight hours or beyond midnight).
The company must record on the mandatory employment documents the abstention of the dependent worker from work for the days in which such was employed in rescue operations or drills (INPS Circular no. 126 of 10 May 1995).

What am I entitled to?

Only days and hours of actual leave from work are reimbursable. The hours worked during the day before the leave or after the rescue operation and the weekly, holiday, vacation and Saturday rests in the event of a "short week", etc. must be excluded.
The remuneration to be considered comprises all the elements included in the concept of global daily pay that are paid normally and continuously.
For workers belonging to categories for which, for insurance purposes, average and conventional wages apply, the payment compensation is the actual one.
Furthermore, the aforementioned remuneration paid by the employer to the mountain rescue volunteers, who took leave from work pursuant to article 1, paragraph 1, Law 18 February 1992, no. 162 must be subject to regular social security and welfare contributions.

Withdrawal of benefit

The claim for refund is not valid if submitted after the end of the month following the month of the rescue operation or drill.

Requirements

The worker, to justify absence from the workplace and be entitled to remuneration and contribution, must have submitted to the employer the declaration of membership as a volunteer, on the date of the rescue operations or drills, in the National Mountain Rescue and Speleological Corps of CAI (Italian Alpine Club), or the Alpenvere in Südtirol and the certification of the mayor or his representatives proving the participation in the rescue activity and its duration.

When can I claim?

The claim for refund is forwarded by the employer by the end of the month subsequent to that when the rescue operation or the drill was carried out, to the territorial INPS office identified in relation to the location of the company where the relevant employee performs the activity, even if the employer centralises the contributory obligations elsewhere.

How can I claim?

For dependent workers, the claim is submitted by the public or private employer online to INPS through the dedicated service.
Alternatively, the claim can be submitted by phoning the contact centre at 803 164 (free from Italian landlines) or 06 164 164 from mobile phones;
The claim must enclose the statement of the workers concerned on affinity with the National Mountain Rescue and Speleological Corps of the CAI (Italian Alpine Club) or to the Alpenverein Sudtirol as volunteers on the date of the rescue operations or drills and the certification of the mayor or his representatives, proving the involvement of the same workers in the aforementioned activities and the time thereof. In case of accreditation claim on IBAN coordinates, the European financial identification form (a copy is available in the procedure) must be enclosed.
Claims that do not enclose the required documentation can be processed only following receipt of the acts.
Self-employed workers are entitled to an indemnity disbursed to offset the lack of income related to the leave days. The indemnity is paid, upon claim, by the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy and is equal to the average payment due to dependent workers in the industrial sector.
Self-employed workers can submit the claim to the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy.