Irish Written Statement of Terms vs the Italian Employment Contract and CCNL

An Irish employer is used to a light, statute-driven paperwork routine: the five core terms on day 5, the rest of the written statement within a month, and a contract that is otherwise largely a matter of agreement. Italy has a similar EU-derived duty to inform, but the real content of the job (pay floor, grade, hours, notice, probation, extra months’ pay) comes from a national collective agreement (CCNL) that applies by sector. Full comparison on Italy vs Ireland .

Ireland: core terms on day 5, full statement in a month  

Under the Terms of Employment (Information) Acts, as amended by the Employment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2018 and the European Union (Transparent and Predictable Working Conditions) Regulations 2022:

• Within 5 days of starting, the employee must receive the core terms in writing: the parties, the employer’s address, the expected duration of a temporary contract, the rate or method of pay, the hours the employer reasonably expects the employee to work, and details of any probation.
• Within 1 month, the employer must provide the remaining terms, such as annual leave, sick pay, pension and notice.
• Probation can last no longer than 6 months, extendable in exceptional circumstances up to 12 months in total.
• Beyond these statutory floors, terms are largely contractual. Collective agreements matter only in specific sectors with Sectoral Employment Orders or Employment Regulation Orders.

Italy: the contract plus the CCNL  

In Italy the paperwork is similar in spirit but the contract sits inside a thicker framework:

• Information duty. The Transparency Decree (D.Lgs 104/2022) requires the employer to give, at the start, written information on the parties, place of work, job title and level, start date, contract type and duration, probation, training, leave, pay and its components, working time, notice and the applicable CCNL. Some items may follow within 7 days or one month.
• Prior notification. The hire must be notified online to the labour authorities (comunicazione UniLav) by the day before the employee starts. There is no Irish equivalent.
• CCNL. Nearly every employer applies a sector CCNL (commerce, metalworking, IT and telecoms, chemicals, and so on). It sets the minimum pay for each job level (livello), the number of monthly payments (13, often 14), working hours, notice periods, probation length, sick-pay top-ups and much more. A contract can improve on the CCNL but cannot go below it.
• Probation (art. 2096 c.c.) must be agreed in writing before the start. Its length comes from the CCNL by level; six months is the usual maximum for most staff.
• Fixed-term contracts (D.Lgs 81/2015): free for the first 12 months; up to 24 months only with a reason permitted by law or the CCNL (as amended by DL 95/2025). Ireland’s limit is different: successive fixed-term contracts generally become indefinite after 4 years.

Side by side  

Practical differences for Irish HR teams  

Pick the CCNL first. Before you agree salary, you need to know the CCNL and the level for the role. That determines the minimum gross annual salary (RAL), whether pay is spread over 13 or 14 months and the notice period. A Dublin-style “€60,000 package” must be translated into a RAL that respects the CCNL table.

State salary as annual gross (RAL). Italian candidates think in RAL, not monthly net. The 13th month (tredicesima) is paid in December and, where the CCNL provides it, the 14th (quattordicesima) in June or July.

Probation is the one window of flexibility. During a valid probation either side can end the relationship without a reason. After it, the Italian dismissal rules apply in full, without the one-year qualifying period that Irish employers rely on under the Unfair Dismissals Acts. See Unfair Dismissals Acts vs Italian dismissal rules .

Language. An English contract is fine if the employee understands it, but Italian-language documents are standard and simplify any dispute. Many EORs provide bilingual contracts.

Remote work. If the employee works from home, Italy expects a written smart-working agreement covering place, tools, the right to disconnect and health and safety.

Common questions from Irish employers  

Can we use our Irish contract template? Not as it is. It will miss the CCNL, the level, the UniLav filing and the Italian information items, and it may contain clauses (such as unpaid non-competes) that are void in Italy.

Is there a statutory minimum wage in Italy? No national statutory minimum wage. The CCNL minimum for each level works as the floor in practice.

Can we offer a contract without a CCNL? Legally a private employer is not obliged to sign up to a CCNL, but courts use CCNL pay as the benchmark for fair pay under the Constitution, and social contributions are calculated on at least the CCNL minimum. In practice every employer applies one.

What about a contractor instead? Misclassifying an employee as a self-employed contractor exposes you to back-payment of INPS contributions and penalties. Read Italian employment contracts before choosing.

What this means if you hire through an EOR  

With an Employer of Record, the EOR is the legal employer in Italy. It picks the right CCNL and level with you, issues the contract and Transparency Decree information in Italian and English, files UniLav before the start and sets up payroll with the 13th and 14th months. You decide the role, salary and day-to-day work. Check the cost in the calculator , compare other countries on Italy vs your country or contact us .

Related guides for Irish companies  

• Statutory redundancy vs TFR
• Annual leave, sick pay and working time
• PRSI and MyFutureFund vs INPS
• Restraint of trade, IP and GDPR

General information, not legal advice.