Employment and contributions · Ferrara
From gross pay to company cost: contributions, TFR, INAIL, fringe benefits and hiring contribution relief, with rules and filings.
To the gross annual salary you add roughly forty to fifty per cent for employer contributions, the INAIL premium and the accrual of the TFR (trattamento di fine rapporto, the statutory end-of-service allowance). The exact percentage depends on the collective agreement applied, the sector, the job grade and the insurance risk class.
The company cost is built up by additions to the gross annual salary. Compulsory pension contributions for invalidity, old age and survivors amount overall to 33 per cent of the contribution base for employees generally, of which 9.19 per cent is borne by the worker and the remainder by the employer; on the portion of pay exceeding the first pensionable earnings band, the additional 1 per cent employee contribution provided by art. 3-ter del d.l. 14 giugno 1992, n. 384, converted by legge 14 agosto 1992, n. 438, applies. The minor contributions are added: the 1.61 per cent NASpI (unemployment benefit) funding contribution provided by art.
2, commi 25 e seguenti, della legge 28 giugno 2012, n. 92, the 0.20 per cent contribution to the TFR Guarantee Fund under art. 2 della legge 29 maggio 1982, n. 297, the contributions to the wage supplement funds and those required by the collective agreement for health care and supplementary pensions. The INAIL premium is set by tariff item and settled by self-assessment. The TFR accrues at the annual salary divided by 13.5, net of 0.50 per cent, and is revalued at a fixed 1.5 per cent plus 75 per cent of the ISTAT consumer price index, under art. 2120 of the codice civile.
Legal references: art. 3-ter d.l. 384/1992 conv. L. 438/1992; art. 2, commi 25 e ss., L. 92/2012; art. 2 L. 297/1982; art. 2120 c.c.; d.P.R. 1124/1965; art. 11, comma 3, d.lgs. 47/2000
the guide to labour costs · ISTAT indices for revaluation
The employer withholds the worker’s share from the payslip and pays the full amount with form F24 (the standard tax payment form) by the 16th of the month following the reference month. The UNIEMENS return is filed with INPS by the last day of the following month. The INAIL premium is settled in February.
The contribution obligation rests entirely on the employer, who is also answerable for the worker’s share and cannot recover omitted withholdings, save in the permitted cases. Payment is made with form F24 by the 16th of the month following the pay period; the individual contribution and pay return, the UNIEMENS flow, is filed electronically with INPS by the end of the month following the reference month. The libro unico del lavoro (single employment ledger), provided for by art. 39 del d.l. 25 giugno 2008, n. 112, converted by legge 6 agosto 2008, n. 133, must be completed by the end of the month following the reference month. The INAIL self-assessment, with payment of the adjustment premium for the previous year and the advance instalment for the current year, is due by 16 February, with the option of instalments.
Failure to pay, or late payment, gives rise to civil penalties under art. 116, comma 8, della legge 23 dicembre 2000, n. 388, in different measure depending on whether there is a contribution omission or evasion, and failure to pay over withheld social security contributions above the annual threshold set by art. 2, comma 1-bis, del d.l. 12 settembre 1983, n. 463, converted by legge 11 novembre 1983, n. 638, is a criminal offence, while below the threshold an administrative penalty remains. The measure of the civil penalties and the amount of the criminal threshold must be checked against the wording in force at the date of the violation, before framing the regularisation.
Legal references: art. 39 d.l. 112/2008 conv. L. 133/2008; art. 116, comma 8, L. 388/2000; art. 2, comma 1-bis, d.l. 463/1983 conv. L. 638/1983; d.P.R. 1124/1965; circolari e messaggi INPS e INAIL
compliance deadline calendar · deductions and absences on the payslip
The ordinary limit of art. 51, comma 3, of the TUIR is 258.23 euros. For the 2025, 2026 and 2027 tax periods, the 2025 budget law raised the threshold to 1,000 euros, increased to 2,000 euros for workers with fiscally dependent children. Once the threshold is exceeded, the entire amount becomes taxable.
Art. 51, comma 3, ultimo periodo, del d.P.R. 22 dicembre 1986, n. 917 excludes from employment income the value of goods supplied and services provided if not exceeding 258.23 euros overall in the tax period, specifying that if the value exceeds the limit it is included in income in full. Art. 1, commi 390 e 391, della legge 30 dicembre 2024, n. 207 temporarily raised the limit for the 2025, 2026 and 2027 tax periods, bringing it to 1,000 euros for workers generally and to 2,000 euros for employees with children — including children born outside marriage who have been recognised, and adopted or fostered children — who are fiscally dependent under art.
12, comma 2, of the TUIR. The measure therefore remains applicable to the 2026 tax period, which falls within the three-year window set by legge 207/2024 and was not affected by amendments in the 2026 budget law (legge 30 dicembre 2025, n. 199). The allowance covers, in addition to goods and services, sums paid or reimbursed by the employer for household utilities for the integrated water service, electricity and natural gas, and for rent or mortgage interest on the main home. The benefit for workers with children is conditional on a declaration by the worker stating the children’s tax codes and on informing the unitary trade union representatives, where present.
Legal references: artt. 12, comma 2, e 51, comma 3, d.P.R. 917/1986; art. 1, commi 390 e 391, L. 207/2024
pay, benefits and company cost · company cars, business travel and reimbursements
There are structural measures — hiring women and unemployed over-50s, apprenticeships, protected categories — and time-limited ones for young people, disadvantaged women and the Special Economic Zone. All require a compliant DURC (certificate of social security compliance), adherence to collective agreements and the absence of pre-existing hiring obligations. Check them before signing the contract.
There are two common prerequisites. The first is art. 1, comma 1175, della legge 27 dicembre 2006, n. 296, which makes regulatory and contribution benefits conditional on holding the single certificate of contribution compliance and on observing statutory obligations and collective agreements and accords. The second is art. 31 del d.lgs. 14 settembre 2015, n. 150, which excludes incentives where the hire implements a pre-existing obligation, where it breaches a right of priority in re-hiring, where the employer or user has ongoing work suspensions for crisis or reorganisation, and where the worker was dismissed in the previous six months by an employer with substantially coinciding ownership. Among the structural measures are the fifty per cent contribution reduction for hiring over-50s unemployed for more than twelve months and women without regularly paid employment, provided by art.
4, commi da 8 a 11, della legge 92/2012, and the reduced apprenticeship rate of art. 1, comma 773, della legge 296/2006. The time-limited measures for hiring young people, disadvantaged women and in the single Special Economic Zone, introduced by artt. 22, 23 e 24 del d.l. 7 maggio 2024, n. 60, converted by legge 4 luglio 2024, n. 95, cover hires and conversions made from 1 September 2024 to 31 December 2025: for those within the incentive window, the application for recognition must be filed by the deadline set in the INPS instructions, most recently indicated as 30 September 2026. For hires made in 2026, the range of usable incentives must instead be reconstructed case by case from the legislation in force and from the Institute’s circulars and messages — before the contract is signed, not after.
Legal references: art. 1, commi 773 e 1175, L. 296/2006; art. 31 d.lgs. 150/2015; art. 4, commi 8-11, L. 92/2012; artt. 22, 23, 24 d.l. 60/2024 conv. L. 95/2024; circolari e messaggi INPS
preliminary check of your case · labour costs and incentives
Before the employment begins: opening the INPS and INAIL positions, the UNILAV notice by midnight of the previous day, and the preventive medical examination where required. Within seven days, delivery of the information on the employment relationship. Then the monthly cycle: payslip, single employment ledger, UNIEMENS and payment with F24.
The mandatory notice of commencement of employment must be sent to the job centre by midnight of the day before the start date, under art. 9-bis, comma 2, del d.l. 1° ottobre 1996, n. 510, converted by legge 28 novembre 1996, n. 608. Information on the essential elements of the employment relationship is due under art. 1 del d.lgs. 26 maggio 1997, n. 152, in the wording replaced by d.lgs. 27 giugno 2022, n. 104, which broadened its content and set the delivery deadlines. On the insurance side, the declaration of operations to INAIL must be filed at the same time as the activity begins, under d.P.R.
30 giugno 1965, n. 1124. On the safety side, before assignment to the role, the risk assessment, preventive health surveillance where required by art. 41 del d.lgs. 9 aprile 2008, n. 81 and the training of art. 37 of the same decree must be completed. The ensuing monthly cycle comprises payslip processing, completion of the single employment ledger by the end of the following month, filing of the UNIEMENS flow by the same deadline and payment of contributions and tax withholdings by the 16th of the following month.
Legal references: art. 9-bis, comma 2, d.l. 510/1996 conv. L. 608/1996; art. 1 d.lgs. 152/1997 come sostituito dal d.lgs. 104/2022; d.P.R. 1124/1965; artt. 37 e 41 d.lgs. 81/2008; art. 39 d.l. 112/2008 conv. L. 133/2008
workplace safety and the risk assessment document · the Firm’s forms · fee calculation · request a quotation · guide to labour costs · cars, business travel and expense reimbursements · amateur sports work · deductions and absences on the payslip · ISTAT indices
Before formalising a hire, it pays to calculate the full cost and check the incentives available: once signed, the contractual choice cannot be corrected. The fee calculator and the online quotation indicate the cost of the payroll service.
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