In particular, it needs to be mentioned, amongst the others, the new discipline of the so called “elastic and flexible clauses”, which could bring to a global reassessment of part-time work utilization both for companies and workers.

Looking back at the preceding practices, the Decree has reviewed the normative in a way that we can now say part-time work reform has definitely achieved a good balance between collective and individual bargaining.

Therefore, it’s absolutely necessary to get good advice to find out all the opportunities offered by the normative to better pursue one’s aims.

Job Sharing
Job sharing work originated in U.S. and then spread in many European countries including Italy, where it has already been disciplined by some collective bargaining contracts.

Job sharing potentially could advantage both companies and the same workers (potential higher work intensity and productivity, hypothetical life’s quality improvement, possibility to manage personal and working schedule etc.).

Job sharing, although having some aspects in common with part-time work, it’s based on a different conception; job sharing represents a very flexible work practice, provided that an evaluation of work flows and company organization is carefully and preventively carried out by drafting a contractual text duly regulating all solidarity aspects connected to worker’s obligations (i.e.: illness, job evaluation, job termination, and so on).

The Employment Department attorneys have studied in depth all the aspects uncovered by the normative and the collective bargaining, drafting out some textual solutions granting the satisfaction of all parties needs and demands in compliance with binding labor norms.

Intermittent work
Awaiting collective bargaining intervention, Intermittent work opportunities need to be promptly evaluated on the basis of the Ministry of Labor and Social Policies Decree.

Logically, intermittent work can be used in a wide gamma of activities pushing companies to evaluate in which operative sectors and modalities intermittent work could be implemented, with or without considering an “availability indemnity” for the non-working time, to assure work performances time by time commensurate to concrete company’s needs.

Training and insertion contracts
Insertion contracts exist to ease the insertion and re-insertion in the labor market of particular categories of persons by adapting, through a specific individual project, worker’s professional skills to a given working context.

With this regard, we remind that among addressed categories are included subjects with an age between 18 and 29 years; that’s why this instrument grants both workers and companies the possibility to combine work and vocational training still preserving prospective employment stability.

Obviously, the contract formulation shall fulfill all normative provisions (think about, for example, the insertion project, the form and duration) and the work relation should evolve in comply with legislator’s guidelines.

Similar arguments can be used referring to apprenticeship, the only contract with a real vocational training content, whose value will be fully understood as soon as local (regional) measures will be enforced

Project work
Provided that sales agents and representatives discipline will remain unchanged, starting from 24 October 2003 the so called project work implies that all relations should refer to one or more specific projects, or work programs/phases of projects determined by the employer and autonomously managed by the collaborator on a result basis, in respect of employer coordination and organization and independently from execution time.

Thus, whereas the employer intends to use a collaborator without establishing a subordinate work relation or a corporate relation has to choose among a self-employment, joint-venture or, indeed, a project work contract. Project work contracts, require targeted consulting, carefully considering company’s needs, nature of the relation and normative provisions when drafting the contract.

Employment and Immigration Department’s Attorneys arranged various project work contractual drafts, assisting companies in evaluating their own needs and in placing a proper choice regarding the project itself.