INPS

Paid time off work is granted to dependent workers who:

• have a severe disability;
• are parents, including either adoptive or foster parents, of children with a severe disability;
• are the spouse, the civil union partner, an individual ordinarily resident in the same household (Article 1, paragraph 36 and paragraph 37 of Law No 76 of 20 May 2016), or a relative or in-law up to the third degree of a family member with a severe disability.

Entitlement to paid time off work may also extend to third-degree relatives and in-laws only when the parents, spouse, civil union partner or individual ordinarily resident in the same household (Art 1, paragraph 36 and paragraph 37 of Law 76/2016) of the person with the severe disability is aged 65 years or over or when such individuals also suffer from a disability or are deceased or absent.

Paid time off work cannot be granted to:

• homeworkers;
• workers employed for household and care services;
• farm workers on a temporary contract and hired by the day, for themselves or as parents or relatives;
• self-employed workers;
• para-subordinate workers.

Alternatively, workers with severe disabilities may be eligible for:

• daily rest breaks consisting of two hours per day if working time amounts to six hours or more, or one hour per day if working time amounts to no more than six hours;
• three days of monthly leave (which may be split up into hours).

Alternatively, parents, including adoptive and foster parents, of children with severe disabilities under three years of age may be eligible for:

• three days of monthly leave, which may be split up into hours;
• extension of parental leave;
• paid hours off work depending on the worker's daily working time consisting of two hours per day if working hours amounts to six hours or more, or one hour per day if working time amounts to no more than six hours.

Alternatively, the birth parents of children with severe disabilities aged between three and 12 years and adoptive or foster parents of children aged three years or older, and no more than 12 years since the child was placed in the family's care, may be eligible for:

• three days of monthly leave, which may be split up into hours;
• extension of parental leave.

The birth parents of children with severe disabilities over 12 years of age and adoptive or foster parents of children with severe disabilities who have been in the family's care for more than 12 years may take three days of monthly leave, which may also be split up into hours.

The spouse, civil union partner, individual ordinarily resident in the same household (Art 1, paragraph 36 and paragraph 37 of Law 76/2016), or relatives and in-laws of the person with a severe disability may be eligible to take three days of monthly leave, which may also be split up into hours.

Extension of parental leave may be taken from the end of the customary parental leave term that the claimant parent is theoretical eligible to take, regardless of whether or not this leave has already been used or completed. Days taken off work as ordinary parental leave and as an extension of parental leave cannot exceed three years in total, and must be used before the child turns 12 years of age. Adoptive and foster parents may be eligible for an extension of parental leave for up to three years, inclusive of the ordinary parental leave term, in the first 12 years of the date the child with a severe disability was placed in the family's care, regardless of the age of the child when they were adopted or fostered, and in any case, not after the child turns 18.

Start DATE AND DURATION

Claims are valid from the moment they are submitted.

Claims must be submitted together with the appropriate statements of accountability and the individual claiming the paid time off work must inform the INPS of any variations to self-certified events or situations in the claim within 30 days of such variation.

WHAT AM I ENTITLED TO?

Pay for time off work is awarded as follows:

• pay for time taken off work by the day will amount to the wages actually paid;
• pay for time taken off work by the hour will amount to the wages actually paid;
• pay for time taken off work as an extension of parental leave, taken before the child turns 12 years of age, or if the child is adopted or fostered, within the first 12 years of the date the child was placed in the family's care, will amount to 30% of the wages actually paid.

Whilst the claimant is on paid time off work, they will also be entitled to receive the household allowance.

The amount for the 13th monthly payment, or other additional monthly payments, is included in the daily wages to be used as the basis when calculating the pay for time off work, which is therefore already paid out by the INPS. As such, the employer is not required to pay the amount due for the 13th monthly payment (also known as the Christmas bonus) as it is already included in the amount paid about by the INPS.

Time taken off work for the purposes described above is paid according to the following procedures:

• entitled workers are paid in advance by their employer, with the possibility of adjusting the contribution amounts owed to the INPS;
• farm workers on temporary or permanent contracts or for intermittent or fixed-term entertainment workers are paid directly by the INPS on claim of the person concerned.

In the case of vertical part-time work that is limited to certain days of the month (on full time or short time), the number of days taken off work must be reduced proportionately and rounded up or down to the nearest unit depending on whether the decimal place is under or over 0.50.

In the case of temporary farm work, three days of time off work can only be granted if the worker is hired on a seasonal contract of at least one month and that the work is arranged over six days of the week or five days, if they work a five-day week. Days of time taken off work are not granted for portions of the month in which work is carried out only on certain days.

Time taken off work for the above-mentioned purposes and special leave to care for people with a serious disability cannot be granted to more than one worker to care for the same person with a severe disability (Single person of contact, Legislative Decree No 119 of 18 July 2011). This does not apply to parents, including adoptive parents, of children with severe disabilities who have been granted both types of benefits for the same child, including alternately, on the understanding that on the day on which one parent takes paid time off work, the other cannot be on special leave at the same time.

A worker with a serious disability who takes time off work for themselves may be cared for by another worker. The days of time off work granted to both the individuals concerned do not necessarily have to be taken at the same time.

A worker with a serious disability that takes time off work for themselves can also take time off work to care for other relatives with a serious disability, without needing the seek the opinion of a medical examiner.

If a worker intends to care for more than one individual with disabilities, they may accumulate periods granted for time off work, bearing in mind that the accumulation of such periods is permitted only when the relative to be cared for is their spouse, civil union partner, an individual ordinarily resident in the same household (Art 1 of paragraph 36 and paragraph 37 of Law 76/2016), or a relative or in-law up to the first degree. The accumulation of periods of time off work is permitted for workers who need to care for relatives or in-laws up to the second degree only when the parents, spouse, civil union partner or person ordinarily resident in the same household (Art 1, paragraph 36 and paragraph 37 of Law 76/2016) of the person with a severe disability is aged 65 or over, has a disability, is deceased or absent.

REQUIREMENTS

To be able to take paid time off work, claimants must be dependent workers (even if on a part-time employment contract) and insured by the INPS for the maternity allowance. Furthermore, the person claiming or for whom the paid time off work is being claimed must have a severe disability pursuant to Article 3, of Law No 104 of 5 February 1992, as recognised by the appropriate internal ASL/INPS medical council.

Another requirement is that the person to be cared for must not have been admitted or be receiving full-time treatment in hospitals or similar institutions, be they public or private, which provide round-the-clock healthcare. Exceptions to this provision are cases where:

• the person with the severe disability is required to stop full-time hospital treatment because they have to leave the hospital in which they receive this care in order to attend duly certified appointments and treatment;
• the person with the severe disability receiving full-time hospital care is in a persistent vegetative state and/or has a poor prognosis in the short-term;
• the physicians in the hospital where the person with a severe disability is receiving full-time treatment require that their carer be present.

Recognition of the severe disability will come into effect on the date the associated certificate is issued, unless the certificate states that it is valid as of the date of the claim.

If no disability certificate is issued within 45 days of submitting the claim, the person concerned may submit a provisional certificate.

The provisional severe disability certificate must be issued by a specialist doctor working for the local health authorities (ASL) and in order to be deemed valid, must specify any socio-occupational, relational and situational issues that the health condition causes, in addition to the diagnosis. It must also stipulate that the doctor assumes accountability for certifying that what is stated on the certificate is true, to the best of their knowledge and judgement.

The provisional certificate issued by the internal medical council may be taken into account even before 45 days have passed from the claim for recognition of a serious disability and will be valid until the final decision is delivered.

In the case of cancer patients, the provisional certificate may be deemed valid after only 15 days have passed from the claim being submitted to the internal medical council.

If the severe disability is not recognised by the final decision, the amounts unduly awarded for paid time off work taken will be recovered.

The provisional certificate will be valid until the final assessment has been issued.

For reports with a review scheduled after 19 August 2014, beneficiaries of paid time off work may continue to receive these benefits until the health review procedure has been completed, on the understanding that: workers who are paid in advance by their employer for time taken off work may continue to take the three days off work per month (taken off for themselves or taken off to care for a relative with a serious disability) and to take daily rest breaks (for themselves) in the period that lies between the expiry date of the report that may be reviewed and the completion of the health review procedure, without needing to submit a new claim; they may also benefit from an extension of parental leave and take paid time off work by the hour (taken to care for children with serious disabilities) in the period that lies between the expiry date of the report that may be reviewed and the completion of the health review procedure, but to do so they will be required to submit a new claim. By contrast, workers who are paid directly by the INPS for time taken off work during the period that lies between the expiry date of the report that may be reviewed and the completion of the health review procedure must submit a new claim to be granted the benefits in question (including the three days of monthly leave). This is notwithstanding the obligation to promptly inform the INPS or their employer of any variation to the factual or legal situations declared in the claim at the time it was submitted (INPS Circular No 127 of 8 July 2016).

An employee who takes time off work to care for an individual with a severe disability who resides in a municipality located more than 150 km away by road from the municipality in which the employee resides is required to provide their employer with a travel document or other suitable documents as evidence to show that they travel to the home of the individual receiving care.

HOW CAN I CLAIM?

Claims for paid time off work must be submitted online to the INPS using the appropriate service.

Alternatively, claims can be made through:

• the contact centre on 803 164 (free for landline calls from Italy) or on +39 06 164 164 from mobile phones;
• aid offices and intermediaries of the institute, using the electronic services that these provide.

In addition to submitting the claim form to the INPS only, temporary farm workers must also provide the MOD. HAND AGR form for each of the months concerned.

For domestic/international adoptions, claimants must provide information on the:

• date the child was placed in the family's care;
• date of adoption/foster care;
• date of entry in Italy;
• date of the custody order;
• competent court;
• custody order number.

This is notwithstanding the obligation to promptly inform the INPS or their employer of any variation to the factual or legal situations declared in the claim.

Workers may appeal against decisions to reject claims for paid time off work to the provincial council of the competent regional INPS office for their place of residence. Appealing to the provincial council does not prevent the claimant from pursuing legal recourse.