Incentives to hire former interns, relief for the South, enhancement of the Youth Guarantee and contribution discount for the self-employed. These are the four chapters that should make up the work package in the new Stability law. As La Repubblica writes today, the Government intends to launch an employment plan that balances the measures on pensions, in order to favor the generational relay.
1) DEFEDERATION FOR THOSE WHO HIRING FORMER INTERNS
The first intervention will concern two categories:
– young people who have taken part in the school-work alternation, i.e. the experimental program created by Buona Scuola which provides for 400 hours of internship in the company for fourth and fifth year students of technical institutes and 200 hours for high school students;
– students who have benefited from the higher education and research apprenticeship, i.e. the equivalent of alternation for university students.
From 2017, the Government intends to guarantee a full tax exemption for three years up to a maximum of 8.060 euros per year for companies that hire a former intern on a permanent contract within six months of obtaining a diploma or degree.
It would therefore be a small-scale re-edition of the 100% relief that in 2015 had made apprenticeship contracts fly. Reductions then reduced to 40% this year, with minor effects on hiring and a consequent rise in fixed-term contracts and vouchers. Whoever was supposed to hire or stabilize precarious workers has done so and the measure no longer works, so the government is thinking of interrupting it this year, shifting the focus to new school graduates and new graduates.
The problem is understanding how many would be the potential beneficiaries of this new intervention. Last year, 720 students took part in alternating school and work and forecasts speak of 1,1 million in 2016 and 1,5 million in 2017-2018, when the program will become compulsory for everyone. However, no one knows how many university students are currently engaged in traineeships.
Other perplexities concern the resources available for this measure: we are talking about only 50 million for the first year.
2) RELIEF FOR THE SOUTH
In reality, the tax relief in force this year (ie reduced to 40%) should not disappear completely. The government plans to keep them, but only for companies that hire in the South and only for the categories established by EU rules (also because the measure will be financed with EU funds), i.e. young people up to 29 or without a diploma, unemployed for over six months and over 50.
3) YOUTH GUARANTEE
The enhancement of the Youth Guarantee should take place with a superbonus, also financed in this case with European funds.
4) DISCOUNT FOR SELF-EMPLOYED WORKERS
A measure could also arrive in favor of self-employed workers in separate management and not registered in professional registers. This would be a three-point discount on social security contributions, from 27 to 24% (which, however, becomes 25,5% because contributions for sickness and maternity are increasing).
