Our Contribution to The Legal 500 Employee Incentives Guide

What kinds of incentive plan are most commonly offered in Italy? Who are they offered to? Are there any limits on who can participate in an incentive plan and the extent to which they can participate? Are there any corporate governance guidelines that apply to the operation of incentive plans?

Many questions are being asked by HR managers of companies belonging to multinational groups. When it comes to the implementation of Group policies, there is not just the problem of a possible conflict with local statutory provisions. It is also important to evaluate the impact that any other practice or regulation may have on the employee incentive plans planned at group level.

The Legal 500, a brand of the publishing house Legalease specialising in legal market information, creates useful links between in-house lawyers and external consultants, HR managers and labour lawyers.

This is why The Legal 500 guides are prepared by leading law firms in each country: they provide operators with an overview of the laws and regulations in the major jurisdictions, divided by areas of practice.

The FAQs set up by The Legal 500 have been answered by Luca Daffra and Franco Tofacchi, both Senior Partners of our firm specialising in Employment Law. The answers are all included in the Italian Chapter of the Guide. Thanks to their experience, the two labour lawyers not only clarify the points submitted to them, which are common to all the countries involved. They also introduce topics not included in the grid, which no employing company can ignore when making business in Italy.

Our lawyers, in fact, are experts in those incentive plans which are usually offered to executives in Italy. However, they frequently assist company clients with employee perks and benefits planning and implementation. These incentive plans are widespread in our country and can be offered to all company associates, from managers to blue collars.

The trend to use this form of incentive has also been supported by Italian legislator, by specific provisions to incentivise the use of the so-called “corporate welfare” to support employees.

Article by Atty Panciroli on Occupational Health and Safety Journal

This month our Partner Laura Panciroli summarises and clarifies what are the conditions for the effectiveness of the delegation of functions in criminal labour law, in her article for the Italian journal and website Ambiente & Sicurezza.

The regulatory reference is of course Legislative Decree 81 of 2008, of which the criminal lawyer analyses in particular articles 16 and 17. Atty Laura Panciroli provides a practical guide on the subject of legislation for the prevention of accidents at work, recalling its foundation in the Constitution and its purposes, the subjects involved and possible cases.

Laura Panciroli draws attention to the employer’s obligation to supervise the delegate’s proper performance of the transferred functions, an obligation that is deemed fulfilled if the verification and control model is adopted and effectively implemented.

She then addresses the issue of the delegate’s financial autonomy, pointing out the possible situations that arise in the event of the need for timely interventions whose costs do not fall within the foreseen and allocated budget.

Finally, the author recalls the functions that the employer cannot delegate, such as the appointment of the Prevention and Protection Service Manager (RSPP) and risk assessment. The employer, however, is not obliged to perform the tasks related to these functions himself, as he/she can assign them to someone with the necessary skills. She/he nevertheless retains his/her position of guarantee.

As for the possibility of sub-delegation, this must comply with the conditions for validity and effectiveness of the first degree delegation, including the duty of supervision.

The contents are available at: www.ambientesicurezzaweb.it

Ambiente & Sicurezza offers legal updates, technical regulations and applications, presenting itself as the first integrated paper/web information system.

Criminal lawyer Laura Panciroli regularly contributes to the magazine. In her clear and concise articles, she comments on new legislation, without forgetting the main aim of clarifying operators’ doubts and offering them a practical vademecum.

All the contents of the magazine are available in the Ambiente & Sicurezza database, updated in real time.

Meeting with YK Law Europe

On January 27, YK Law Europe visited Ichino – Brugnatelli e Associati in Milan. Representatives from both firms discussed the growth and development of their respective practices and had a productive dialogue about opportunities for legal service collaboration between China and Italy, as well as within the EU. This will allow for better support for Chinese companies investing and operating in Italy.

The senior partner Francesco Brugnatelli also shared the 100-year history of Ichino Brugnatelli e Associati, with our Executive Director of Yingke Europe / Managing Partner of YK Law Germany 卢辉 / Hui Lu, Managing Partner of YK Law Spain Steve Chaoyan, and Managing Partner of YK Law France Chuanjuan ZHUANG.

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