Question: My best compliments for the kind of information you offer.
I have a problem with my labour contract and with my papers. My permit was issued on basis of study matters and it is to expire at the end of March. I applied to papers renewal at the end of January. I am working, but my labour contract is over at the end of March as well. The job agency I found employment with says that labour contracts cannot last longer than papers and the contract is not being renewed because my papers are not renewed.
I heard that I can sign labour contracts even if my papers are under renewal. What can I do?
Thanks a lot.
Answer – Also new rules for the enforcement of Bossi-Fini law allow citizens that live in Italy on basis of study visas to regularly work. The most they can work is 1,040 hours a year, which means that they can part-time work. This should not be a problem to papers renewal.
This interested citizen rightly says that residence papers used to need to be under validity to sign labour contracts, whereas today labour contracts can be signed also if papers are under renewal.
He was probably told that labour contracts must be of the same length of residence papers because of the agency’s interests not because of law. In other words, the agency that employed this citizen does not want to have long terms involvement. Agencies usually prefer to have workers live in precariousness since law allows them to do so. Job agencies can sign contracts that last very little and since they can act this way they do because casual labour helps exploitation.
What this person was told shows the agency’s convenience not law and rules.
Law provides for that labour relations can go on while residence papers are under renewal (Consolidated act art. 32). New labour contracts can as well be stipulated.
Workers cannot be considered clandestines if their papers are being renewed. The presumption of illegality seems to be a real preventive war against migrants but it fortunately finds no legal root. Even the strictest Local Labour Departments had to accept that foreign workers can be regularly employed if their papers are under renewal.
Casual labour is by definition a temporary contract, though job agencies can employ workers on basis of open-end contracts. Anyway this fact does not make any difference because open-end contracts can be signed both during papers validity and during their renewal. It is also not true that labour contracts cannot last longer than papers.
The person that wrote to us has the right to a contract that lasts longer than his residence papers. Of course agencies are not obliged to as law established.
Job agencies are thought to provide for casual labour, for job-on-call, etc. The only fact that they need to respect is that regular contracts are signed in order to safeguard workers’ payment.
We should not forget that casual labour is ruled over and it is real labour and therefore residence contracts must be signed as well (as we explained when we commented upon recent Ministry of labour memorandum 9 – issued March 8th 2005). Residence contracts must be signed and sent to Prefecture.
Also in case of casual labour all fulfilments provided for by law must be respected, such as the communication of employment to Prefecture within five days from the signing of labour contract (as provided for by the rules for the enforcement of Bossi-Fini law art. 36 bis paragraph 2). It also seems that sending residence contracts to Prefecture is the same as communicating that employment started, in case of course that the date labour relation started is referred.