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hire in Italy

Italy PEO &
Employer of Record

SALARY PAYMENT IN Euro (EUR, €)

CONTRACT LANGUAGES Italian / English

PAYROLL TAX 20.40% – 32.40%

PAYROLL CYCLE Monthly

TIME TO HIRE 24 hours

Hire and pay talents
with Horizons in
180+ countries

Simple, compliant hiring with Horizons PEO

Hire in Italy

Horizons ensures day-to-day guidance to help your business navigate Italy labor laws and regulations. Horizons also ensures your Italian payroll is processed on time, and that taxes are withheld as required.

As the Italy Employer of Record, Horizons is responsible for employee income tax withholding, payment of payroll taxes to state authorities, and submission of tax returns to the Italian Tax Office. 

Partnering with our Italy PEO is the quickest and most cost-effective way to enter the Italian market.

Facts & Stats

1. PEO Platform

Hire in Italy, and pay employees through our platform or app.

2. PEO Cost

Our Italy PEO solution is the most affordable on the market.

3. Fast Time-To-Hire

Fast Italy onboarding, hire in as little as 24 hours.

4. Compliant Contracts

We draft bilingual labor contracts, compliant with Italien labor law.

5. Extensive Benefits

We manage all mandatory benefits and contributions in Italy.

6. 180+ Countries

It doesn’t stop with Italy — we hire employees globally.

stay compliant with Italian labor laws

Labor Laws

Employment contract types

In Italy, employers are legally required to produce formal employment contracts for all workers. These contracts should always include any relevant details of the role, such as salary/wage, working hours, benefits, and entitlements. They should also be written in Italian and use the currency of the Euro.

Fixed-term
Probationary period

Maximum: 50% of the contract duration

Termination notice period

Early dismissal is not possible

Severance

In any case of termination. This amount is set aside each month.

Administered according to the following calculation:

(Annual gross salary / 13.5) + (1.5%*years of employment) + compensation for inflation

Indefinite
Probationary period

Managers: 6 months

Regular employees: 3 months

Termination notice period

<5 years employment: min. 1 to 2 months notice
5 to 10 years: min. 1.5 to 3 months notice
>10 years: min. 2 to 4 months notice

Severance

In any case of termination. This amount is set aside each month.

Administered according to the following calculation:

(Annual gross salary / 13.5) + (1.5%*years of employment) + compensation for inflation

Risk of Misclassification

Italy, like many other countries, treats self-employed individuals or contractors and full-time employees differently. Misclassification of contractors in Italy may lead to fines and penalties for the offending company.

Working hours in Italy

A normal working week in Italy is 40 hours long, made up of five eight-hour days, usually Monday to Friday.

Hire compliantly in Italy without a local entity

Hire in 24 hours with the Italy employment experts — no subsidiary required.

Italian national holidays 2023

Italy has a range of national public holidays that are celebrated annually. In 2023 these holidays are:
Date Holiday name
1 Jan, 2023 New Year’s Day
6 Jan, 2023 Epiphany
9 Apr, 2023 Easter Sunday
10 Apr, 2023 Easter Monday
25 Apr, 2023 Liberation Day
1 May, 2023 Labor Day / May Day
2 Jun, 2023 Republic Day
15 Aug, 2023 Assumption of Mary
1 Nov, 2023 All Saints’ Day
8 Dec, 2023 Feast of the Immaculate Conception
25 Dec,2023 Christmas Day
26 Dec,2023 St. Stephen’s Day

Annual leave in Italy

Employees in Italy are entitled to a minimum of 20 days of paid vacation leave from work. This is based on a five-day working week.

Sick leave in Italy

Employees in Italy are entitled to at least three days of paid sick leave if they present a medical note. Employees may be able to take up to two years for serious illnesses or family issues.

Maternity leave in Italy

Female employees in Italy can take two months before and three months after giving birth. During this time, they receive 80% of normal salary. Male employees can take one day of paternity leave, however, they can also take up to two days of the mother’s leave if mutually agreed upon.

Termination & severance in Italy

Employers in Italy can only terminate employees in specific circumstances, such as breaches of the employment contract or for economic reasons, and there are strict procedures to follow in most cases, so it is important to fully understand the regulations relevant to your specific situation.

Employees are also entitled to a payment at the end of their service, called the TFR, for which an employer must withhold 7% of pay.

Expert Knowledge
Expert Knowledge

Sebastian Klotz,
Sales Manager (Berlin)

„When hiring in Italy, foreign companies are often unaware that the TFR (Trattamento di Fine Rapporto) are to be added on top of the regular employer social contributions. This is an important factor to budget in, in salary discussions.”

Taxation in Italy

Both employees and employers in Italy generally need to contribute toward social security funds. For employees, the contribution is roughly 10% of salary, and for employers, it is roughly 35%.

Income tax is progressively scaled in Italy, with rates ranging from 23% to 43% depending on income.

The corporate tax rate in Italy (called IRES) is 24%, but businesses are also usually required to pay a regional production tax (IRAP) of 3.9%.

Health insurance in Italy

Italy has public healthcare, so businesses do not need, nor are expected to, offer private medical insurance. However, some employers do choose to offer private medical benefits.

hassle-free chinese compensation & benefits

Compensation & Benefits

Compensation laws in Italy

There is no fixed minimum wage in Italy. Instead, collective bargaining agreements are usually in place to dictate wages for specific industries/roles.

Minimum Wage Country Comparison Chart(Per Month in USD)
Switzerland (Geneva)$4,000
Italy$2,255
Australia$1996
Algeria$156
Uzbekistan$22
13 month salary in Italy

An annual ‘13th-month’ bonus payment is regularly given to employees in Italy, although it is not legally required. The payment is usually given around Christmas.

Benefit management in Italy​

Setting up a system of employee benefits for your employees in Italy can be difficult. The complex regulations and organization can require a lot of time, effort, and investment on the part of employers.

Outsourcing your benefit management process ensures that you fully understand and adhere to the rules, ensuring your compliance and speeding up the process significantly. At Horizons, our Italy Employer of Record & PEO and employment experts will help you to find and arrange your benefits, advise on your strategy, and ensure compliance with the law.

Hire in Italy in 24h
without a subsidiary

We’re the leaders for employment and HR solutions in Italy and ensure a truly seamless local hiring experience.

FAQs

An Italy PEO and an Italy EOR are two types of companies which specialize in providing human resources services to businesses in Italy.

The main difference between an Italy PEO and an Italy EOR is in the scope of their services.

Italy PEOs provide a full range of HR services, including payroll, benefits administration, and employee recruiting—all under one roof as a co-employer. Engaging an Italy PEO is essentially outsourcing your HR duties in Italy.

Italy EORs actually take over as the legal employer of your employees based abroad. Italy EORs become responsible for labor compliance for your employees in Italy.

At Horizons, we offer both PEO and EOR services in Italy. Get in touch now and let us know what service you are seeking.

A PEO in Italy can feasibly hire both local and foreign nationals to work in Italy.

However, the ability of Horizons to sponsor your foreign national employee in Italy may be limited due to visa quotas practiced in many countries.

Contact us with your requirements and our Global Mobility team with review the case and get back to you within 2 business days.

In most cases, Horizons’ Italy PEO can hire & onboard your employee within 24 hours. The actual start date of the employee will depend on their notice period obligation to their previous employer as well as any relevant hiring rules in Italy.

It is possible to get a work visa in Italy. Horizons’ Global Mobility team is a dedicated team of work visa experts. They assess the details of each case to determine feasibility and costs before Horizons applies for the work visa on behalf of your employee. If the Global Mobility team determines that your case is feasible, the process is smooth and transparent. Visa spots in Italy are limited, however—get started today to secure your employees’ visa spot.