Italy : Law No. 162/2021 on Equal opportunities

Law no. 162/2021 on equality of opportunity, passed on 5 November 2021, which came into force on 3 December, aims to eliminate the gender pay gap. The law expands the scope of both direct and indirect discrimination, with a view to protecting job applicants. Discrimination now covers not only cases where employees are subjected to unfavourable treatment but also changes in organisational arrangements and working hours prompted by pregnancy, maternity or paternity and the exercising of employee rights relating thereto, plus discrimination based merely on gender, age or needs related to care or family support, which put, or might put, a female worker in at least one of the following positions: 1) being disadvantaged in relation to the rest of the workforce; 2) limiting the employee’s options in terms of taking part in the company’s life or the decisions made by the company; 3) limiting access to mechanisms for achieving advancement and career progress. In addition to these changes, the approach being taken is one of incentivisation, via the adoption of a gender equality certification mechanism, which will allow businesses to demonstrate what concrete actions they have taken to reduce the existing gaps in career opportunities and wage disparities, to manage gender differences or to protect maternity (the criteria in question will be covered by a decree). Businesses will require this certification to benefit from lower social security contributions or to secure financing. Companies with more than 50 employees (the previous figure was 100) will also have to issue a report at two-year intervals on the situation regarding their male and female employees in each business line.
(article published in IR Notes 177, 12 January 2022)