For pay purposes only, night work is considered to be work between 10 pm and 6 am. “Night work” for legal purposes is considered to be work that is actually performed between 10 pm and 5 am in relation to the case formulated in Article 1, paragraph 2, letter of Italian Legislative Decree no. 66/2003.
For legal purposes, a worker is considered to be a “night worker” if:
- during their daily schedule at least three hours of their working hours normally fall within the period between 10 pm and 5 am. Temporary addition to a night schedule as specified herein is considered an “exceptional assignment” and therefore does not lead to the classification as a “night worker”;
- with regard to their total annual working hours, they normally work at least three hours during the period between 10 pm and 5 am for a minimum of 80 working days per year, to be re-proportioned for vertical and mixed part-time work pursuant to Article 1, paragraph 2, letter e) of Italian Legislative Decree no. 66/2003.
Night work is not considered such within the meaning of Italian Legislative Decree no. 66/2003 but does entitle the worker to the increases envisaged by the CCNL in force if performed in connection with the following exceptional cases:
a) holiday caused by sudden resignation of an employee;
b) need for replacement caused by short-term absence of staff due to illness, injury and/ or force majeure;
c) the need to replace personnel for short periods (holidays, paid and unpaid leave of any kind);
d) for the execution of urgent and exceptional works of a short duration.
Night work is given absolute priority to workers who request it, taking into account the organisational needs of the company.
Pursuant to Article 13, paragraph 1, of Italian Legislative Decree no. 66/2003, in the event of the adoption of a multi-week schedule, the period on which to calculate the limit of 8 hours in a 24-hour period in the absence of a specific rule at the company level is defined as an average on a quarterly basis.
Pursuant to Article 15 of Italian Legislative Decree no. 66/2003, which guarantees the transfer from night work to day work, it is provided that in the event of unfitness for night work sanctioned by the company physician and in the absence of solutions within the same level, the worker may be transferred to duties at a lower level in order to facilitate solutions aimed at protecting employment.
For the purposes of the provisions of Article 13, paragraph 2, of Italian Legislative Decree no. 66/2003, the provisions of the previous CCNL remain in place.
The introduction of night work is preceded by consultation with the unitary union representative bodies, or, if they have not been constituted, the company union representatives, or, if they have not been constituted, the regional trade unions. The consultation is carried out and concluded within ten days of the employer’s notification.