LEGISLATIVE UPDATE | Decree-Law no. 48/2023
Decree-Law no. 48 was adopted on 4 May 2023 and immediately became the central Italian employment reform of the spring.
The measure changed the “causali” (i.e. “factual reasons”) required when a fixed-term relationship exceeds the initial statutory period. Representative collective agreements could identify permissible needs, replacement remained available and a temporary individual route was introduced pending collective regulation.
For a foreign employer, a fixed term can appear to be a convenient substitute for probation or a way to test a new market. Italian law instead treats it as an exception that must remain within duration, renewal and numerical rules. A generic reference to business needs may not support the actual contract.
Before hiring, the employer should check the applicable CCNL, describe the temporary need with factual precision and create a tracker for extensions and renewals. If the position is structurally permanent, an indefinite contract with a properly drafted probation clause is usually more coherent.