A Survey of Domestic Work in Italy
In everyday life most families rely on the help of figures in the performance of domestic duties: domestic workers in fact, are all those who provide a continuous activity in favor of the family life of the employer, such as domestic helpers, caregivers, drivers, gardeners, butlers.
Hiring procedures
The employer has to transmit online, through the UniLav form available on the website of the Ministry of Labor and Social Policies, the data necessary for the hiring of the domestic worker to the Employment Centre of the municipality of residence, within 24 hours of the day before the establishment of the employment relationship.
If the employee is of Italian nationality or from the European Union, he/she can be hired directly after mutually agreeing on the fundamentals of the working relationship (hours, pay, vacations). The employee can also be hired if he/she is not registered in the employment lists but, in this case, he/she must possess required documents such as the tax code, a valid identity document, and the health card issued by the Asl.
The situation is different if the worker is non-EU.
In case the foreign worker is resident in Italy:
– The employer and the collaborator must fill in Form Q to stipulate the so-called Contract of Stay.
– Send it by registered mail to the Immigration Desk of the Prefecture of residence, together with an identity document.
– The collaborator must receive a copy of the Stay Contract and of the receipt stamped by the Immigration Desk.
In case the foreign worker is not resident in Italy:
Every year, through the Flows Decree, the maximum number of non-EU workers who will be allowed to enter our country and who will be granted a Residence Permit for working reasons is programmed. The employer must submit the application for the nulla osta using the new telematic procedure of the Ministry of the Interior. The employer is then summoned by the Immigration Desk for the delivery of the authorization – which is valid for six months – and for the signing of the residence contract, prepared by the same Immigration Desk. This one transmits the authorization, the residence contract, and the tax code – requested from the Tax Agency – to the competent Italian diplomatic-consular Representation abroad, which issues to the worker an entry visa.
The non-EU citizen must go, within eight days of entering Italy, to the Immigration Desk to sign both the work contract and the application for a residence permit, that must be sent to the prefecture by registered mail. Finally, the Police Headquarters will summon the non-EU citizen for the delivery of the residence permit.
The domestic worker has always been one of the least protected figures from the point of view of health or pension coverage. It is for this reason that Welfare coverage has been devised to try to meet the needs of these workers, seeking a way to help them live their work with more serenity.
Meta description: Domestic work in Italy represents a fundamental sector of the economy, even though undeclared work in this field accounts for almost half of all work.
