An absorbable salary supplement can become non-absorbable through repeated payroll choices.
STATUS | Supreme Court decision – judgment no. 23704/2026
Italian employers frequently pay an individual salary supplement above the minimum remuneration set by the applicable collective agreement. This supplement, known as a superminimo, is commonly drafted as absorbable: future collective increases can therefore be offset against it instead of increasing total pay by the same amount.
Supreme Court judgment no. 23704 of 21 July 2026 confirms that the contract is not the end of the analysis. If an employer consistently and generally refrains from absorbing the supplement when collective increases occur, that favourable practice may become a binding company custom. No separate agreement or shared negotiating intention is required; the repeated and generalised conduct itself can operate as a collective source governing individual employment relationships.
The Court also accepted that an employer may withdraw from such a custom, but not simply by changing the next payroll. The intention to terminate the practice must be clear, unequivocal and adequately communicated to the affected workforce. This makes historic payroll data particularly important in acquisitions, harmonisation projects and group-wide compensation reviews.
Practical point. Before absorbing a salary supplement, review how previous collective increases were treated across the workforce. If a favourable custom has developed, any change requires a deliberate employment and industrial-relations strategy, not merely a new payroll instruction.