Invalidity at work in Italy:

There is in Italy a strict placement system for certain categories of socially or physically disadvantaged or handicapped persons (the disabled, orphans and widows of various categories, refugees, etc.).

The Law on the employment of disabled people (Law no. 68 of 12 March 1999: “Regulations on the right to employment for persons with disabilities”) is the main legislation concerning the legal obligation to employ disabled workers in Italy.

Public and private employers are required to hire persons with disabilities belonging to the following categories:

• Persons of working age with physical, sensory , mental or cognitive disabilities whose working ability is reduced by more than 45%;
• persons with a visual or hearing disability;
• military and civilian war-disabled persons, work-disabled persons (public sector);
• work-disabled persons with an invalidity percentage of more than 33% (private sector).

Based on the size of their workforce, both private and public sector employers are required to hire a certain percentage of disabled workers:

• Employers with more than 50 employees must meet a 7% disability employment quota;
• at least 2 disabled workers must be hired in workplaces of 36 to 50 employees;
• workplaces of 15 to 35 employees must hire at least 1 disabled worker in case of new hiring;
• are exempted of the obligation of hiring disabled workers units with less than 15 employees.