BCEA and Written Particulars vs the Italian Employment Contract and CCNL

A South African company hiring in Italy for the first time usually starts from what it knows: a BCEA-compliant contract, written particulars and, in some sectors, a bargaining council agreement or sectoral determination. Italy has a similar layered structure, but the collective layer is far broader. Almost every Italian employee is covered by a national collective agreement (CCNL), and the CCNL decides much of what a South African contract would normally negotiate. Full comparison on Italy vs South Africa .

South Africa: the BCEA as a floor  

The Basic Conditions of Employment Act 75 of 1997 sets minimum terms: hours, overtime, leave, notice, severance and the duty to give written particulars of employment when the employee starts work (section 29). The Act applies to almost all employers and workers. The Department of Employment and Labour notes that its working-hours provisions do not cover senior managers, travelling sales staff who set their own hours, people working fewer than 24 hours a month, and employees earning above the earnings threshold .

On top of the BCEA sit two sector instruments:

• Sectoral determinations, issued by the Minister for sectors such as domestic work, farm work or wholesale and retail, setting minimum wages and conditions.
• Bargaining council agreements, negotiated by employers’ organisations and unions in a sector and, where extended by the Minister, binding on non-parties.

Many South African knowledge-economy employers, such as software houses, consultancies and fintechs, fall under neither. For them, the BCEA plus the contract is the whole story, and the contract does most of the work.

Italy: contract plus CCNL  

In Italy the contract still matters, but the CCNL fills most of it. Each sector (commerce and services, metalworking, IT and telecoms, chemicals, credit, and so on) has a national agreement signed by the main unions and employers’ associations. In practice, an employer applies the CCNL matching its activity, and courts use the CCNL pay scales as the benchmark for “fair” pay under the Constitution.

A CCNL typically sets:

• Job levels (livelli) with minimum monthly pay for each level.
• Number of monthly payments: 13, and in some sectors 14 (tredicesima and quattordicesima).
• Probation length by level, often a few weeks to six months.
• Notice periods by level and seniority.
• Leave: annual leave above the statutory four weeks, extra paid hours (ROL, permessi).
• Sick pay top-ups and the protected period (comporto).
• Seniority increments, supplementary health funds and pension funds.

The written contract or hiring letter must give the information listed in the Transparency Decree ( Legislative Decree 104/2022 ): parties, place of work, job title and level, start date, duration if fixed-term, probation, leave, pay and its components, working hours, notice, the CCNL applied and the social security bodies. The hire must also be reported online (UniLav) by the day before the start.

Side by side  

Fixed-term contracts  

South African employers know section 198B of the Labour Relations Act, which limits fixed-term contracts beyond three months for employees below the earnings threshold. Italy has a stricter but simpler rule for everyone: a fixed-term contract can run for 12 months without a reason, and up to 24 months only with a reason listed in the law or the CCNL ( Legislative Decree 81/2015, art. 19 ). Beyond that, or with too many renewals, the contract becomes permanent.

The salary threshold question  

In South Africa, a highly paid employee loses statutory protection over hours and overtime, and many senior staff are effectively governed by contract alone. Italy has no equivalent cut-off. A senior engineer on €90,000 is still covered by the CCNL, still has a job level, is still entitled to statutory leave and still has dismissal protection. Only the top tier, dirigenti, has partially different rules, and even they have their own CCNL and are not “at will”.

Pay that South Africans might not expect  

• Thirteenth month. In South Africa, a 13th cheque is contractual. In Italy it is part of the CCNL and is paid in December. Some CCNLs add a 14th in June or July.
• Gross annual salary (RAL) is quoted to include the 13th and 14th, so divide by 13 or 14, not 12, to get the monthly figure.
• TFR, about 6.91% of pay, accrues every month on top of salary. See the severance guide .

Changes on the South African horizon  

The Department of Employment and Labour has published the Labour Laws Amendment Bill, 2025 and the Labour Relations Amendment Bill, 2025, including written terms for on-call and zero-hours workers and a presumption of employment for contractors. None of this changes the Italian side, where using “contractors” for what is really employment is already a well-known risk.

What this means if you hire through an EOR  

The EOR picks the CCNL that fits the role, places the employee at the right level, drafts the Italian contract in line with Decree 104/2022, files the UniLav notice and runs 13th or 14th month payroll. Your job is to describe the role accurately so the level is right; underlevelling is the most common source of later back-pay claims. Read more on Italian employment contracts , compare other countries on Italy vs your country , and check costs in the calculator .

Related guides for companies in South Africa  

• LRA fair dismissal and the CCMA vs Italian dismissal rules
• UIF, SDL and PAYE vs INPS and IRPEF
• Leave and working hours: South Africa vs Italy

General information, not legal advice. Planning a hire? Contact us .