New year, new rules. In the field of social safety nets there are many changes that have come into force concerning Naspi, Asdi and Dis-coll, unemployment benefits intended to protect workers who have involuntarily lost their jobs and entered into force on 1 May 2015 under the Jobs Act.
The decrees approved by the Council of Ministers at the end of October changed the functioning mechanism of the subsidies, establishing important innovations in terms of duration, requirements, duties, sanctions and coverage.
As regards in particular the New Employment Insurance, better known as Naspi, the changes are significant. So let's see in detail what are the new rules in force for 2016.
NASPI: WHAT IT IS AND HOW IT WORKS
Naspi is the social shock absorber created to replace the old Aspi and intended for the protection of the following categories:
– workers who have involuntarily lost their jobs;
– workers who have resigned for just cause
– workers who have terminated their employment relationship by mutual agreement within the framework of the procedure referred to in article 7 of law 1 5 July 1966, n. 604, as amended by article 1, paragraph 40, of law no. 92 of 2012.
Public administration permanent workers and agricultural operators, categories already covered by other allowances, are excluded from the mechanism.
In order to access the NASpI, the worker must submit a specific application electronically to the INPS within 68 days from the beginning of the unemployment status.
NASPI: ACCESS REQUIREMENTS
In order to take advantage of Naspi, the unemployed must meet certain requirements established in the decree approved on February 20, 2015:
– state of unemployment pursuant to article 1, paragraph 2, letter c), of Legislative Decree No. 21 of 2000 April 181, and subsequent amendments;
– at least thirteen weeks of contributions in the four years preceding the beginning of the period of unemployment;
– thirty days of effective work, regardless of the minimum contribution, in the twelve months preceding the beginning of the unemployment period.
NASPI: DURATION
The previous legislation provided that for 2015 and 2016 workers could use Naspi for a maximum period of 24 months. For 2017 however, the maximum duration would have been shortened, going down to a maximum of 18 months.
The new provision, established by the October decree and regulated by the INPS circular no. 194 of 27 November, instead provides that unemployment events that will occur from 1 January 2017 may be supported by NASpI for a number of weeks equal to 50 % of those covered by contributions, in the last 4 years. The maximum duration is extended to 104 weeks (i.e. 2 years) from the previous 78.
NASPI: CALCULATION
The maximum amount of Naspi can never exceed 1.300 euros. To calculate the monthly amount of the benefit, it will be necessary to divide the total wages taxable for social security purposes received in the last four years by the number of weeks of contributions paid. At this point it will be necessary to multiply the result by 4,33. If the monthly salary is equal to or less than 1.195 euros per month, the amount of the allowance will be equal to 75% of the salary itself. For amounts of less than 75% of the monthly salary, 25% of the difference between the monthly salary and €1.195 must be added.
Starting from the 1st day of the fifth month of receiving Naspi, the amount of the subsidy will be reduced by 3% per month.
NASPI: SEASONAL WORKERS
One of the most important changes concerns seasonal workers employed in the tourism sector or in spas. The latter will be able to access the subsidy for unemployment events occurring within 31 December 2015, lasting less than six months. On the basis of the provisions, the contribution periods that have already given rise to the disbursement of ordinary unemployment benefits with reduced requirements and mini Aspi 2012 used in the four reference years must be calculated. In these cases, Naspi cannot exceed the maximum limit of 6 months.
NASPI: COLF AND DOMESTIC WORKERS
The new legislation provides for a change in the access requirements for:
-maid,
– domestic workers,
– home workers,
– employees with periods of work abroad,
-workers characterized by neutralization with contribution of very dated and agricultural interest.
With regard to these categories, given the difficulty of identifying the 30 days worked in the year, a necessary condition to be able to benefit from the Naspi will be to have five weeks worked (weeks with a minimum of 24 hours of paid work.
NASPI: THE NEW STATE OF UNEMPLOYMENT
Decree No. 150 of 27 November modifies the definition of unemployment, including workers without employment who declare their willingness to carry out work activities and to participate in active labor policy measures agreed with the center for employment.
Once the application for access has been submitted electronically (within 68 days of dismissal) the worker must contact the reference employment center in order to proceed with the signing of the personalized service agreement. He will also have the obligation to participate in initiatives and workshops aimed at strengthening skills, training and requalification. The unemployed person will also have to accept the job offers deemed suitable.
In the event of non-compliance with the obligations, the new legislation also provides for sanctions:
1. the reduction of a quarter of a month's salary, in the event of a first no-show;
2. the deduction of one month's salary on the second no-show;
3. the forfeiture of the benefit and the state of unemployment, in the event of a further no-show.
If, on the other hand, the unemployed worker does not accept a job offer considered suitable in the absence of a justified reason, the forfeiture of benefits applies.
