Last Updated on March 11, 2026
Law 26 of 27 February 2026 has been published in the Official Gazette, converting, with amendments, Decree Law 200/2025 containing “Urgent provisions on legislative deadlines” (the so-called Milleproroghe 2026).
This measure extends the scope of the incentives introduced by Decree 60/2024 (the so-called Cohesion Decree) which aim to insert into the world of work the most disadvantaged individuals in terms of age, gender, and occupational status.
Young People’s Bonus
This law introduces an exemption of 70% of social security contributions paid by employers for permanent hirings (and for the transformations of fixed-term contracts) of under-35-year-olds who have never had an open-ended contract, from 1 January 2026 to 30 April 2026. This percentage rises to 100% if the company achieves a net employment increase calculated by comparing, for each month, the number of employees with the average of those employed in the previous twelve months, with re-proportioning of part-time contracts. This calculation shall not take into account any reductions in staff at subsidiaries or affiliates pursuant to Art. 2359 of the Italian Civil Code or in any case linked to the same company.
The maximum monthly amount of this exemption is €500 for each employee, which increases to €650 for hirings or transformations carried out in a plant or production unit located, now, also in the regions of Marche and Umbria, as well as in Southern Italy, in the so-called ZES (i.e. Abruzzo, Molise, Campania, Basilicata, Sicily, Apulia, Calabria, and Sardinia).
Women’s Bonus
The deadline for subsidised permanent hiring of women who have not been employed for at least 6 months (if resident in ZES regions or operating in sectors characterised by marked gender employment inequality) or 24 months (resident anywhere in Italy) has been extended from 31 December 2025 to 31 December 2026.
The law confirms the amount of the exemption (100% of social security contributions paid by employers), the maximum monthly amount of relief (€650 for each female employee) and the condition of achievement of the above-detailed net employment increase.
ZES Bonus
Employers with up to 10 employees who, from 1 January 2026 to 30 April 2026, in ZES regions hire, with open-ended contracts, over-35-year-olds who have been unemployed for at least 24 months, are exempted from 70% of their social security contributions. Again in this case,the incentive rises to 100% if the company achieves a net employment increase.
Relief is capped at a maximum of €650 per month for each employee.
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Employers may benefit from this measure for a period of 24 months. In any case, the Cohesion Decree Law provisions still apply (see our newsflash “Cohesion Decree: new incentives for hiring” of 10.05.2024), as does relative operational clarification provided by INPS.
Toffoletto De Luca Tamajo is at your disposal should you need any further clarification and/or details.
For further information: comunicazione@toffolettodeluca.it
