The main new features concern the possibility of employee representation in corporate bodies, tax incentives for performance bonuses and profit-sharing, financial participation plans, the establishment of joint committees, and new company roles dedicated to training, welfare, and inclusion. Adoption of these measures remains voluntary for companies, which may choose whether to implement the new forms of participation based on their own needs and collective bargaining agreements.
Introduction
On May 14, 2025, the Senate definitively approved the popular initiative proposal promoted by the Cisl. The proposal—implementing Article 46 of the Constitution and recalling the principles of European Directive 2002/14/EC—promotes the participation of employees in the company’s life in its various forms (managerial, economic and financial, organizational, and consultative), through a clearer and more uniform regulation of the subject.
Main new features
Below are the main new features introduced by the law:
Possibility of participation by employees in corporate bodies
First and foremost, the law introduces the possibility for representatives of employees’ interests to be present in the companies’ corporate bodies. In particular, employees’ presence may be provided for in the company’s bylaws in the “supervisory board” of joint-stock companies (or limited partnership companies) organized under the so-called “dualistic model,” or in the board of directors in companies organized according to the “monistic” model. Such participation must be regulated within collective bargaining agreements.
Performance bonuses and profit-sharing
Furthermore, there is a transitional amendment to the tax regime for performance bonuses, and forms of profit-sharing are introduced. Specifically, there are incentives regarding the substitute IRPEF tax and related regional and municipal surcharges, in order to encourage the distribution of bonuses and profits to employees.
Financial participation plans
A transitional tax regime is also introduced for dividends paid to employees and deriving from shares granted in lieu of performance bonuses. In particular, for companies that adopt the participatory model, such dividends are exempt from income tax for 50% of their amount, up to a maximum of EUR1,500 per year.
Joint committees
According to the new law, companies may promote the establishment of joint committees, composed equally of company and employee representatives. These committees will be tasked with developing proposals for the improvement and innovation of products, production processes, services, and work organization.
New company roles and inclusion
The company’s organizational chart may include, based on company-level collective agreements, specific roles such as the representatives for training, welfare plans, pay policies, workplace quality, work-life balance, parenthood, diversity, and the inclusion of people with disabilities. Even companies with fewer than 35 employees may promote forms of employee participation, including through bilateral bodies.
Consultation
Within the framework of joint committees governed by collective agreements, unitary or company trade union representatives—or, in their absence, employee representatives and the territorial structures of sectoral bilateral bodies—may be consulted in advance of company decisions. Specific timing and modalities for consultation are provided.
Training for employee representatives
There is a minimum requirement of ten hours per year of training for employee representatives who are part of joint committees or corporate bodies, for the purpose of developing the necessary knowledge and skills.
Permanent national commission for employee participation
A permanent national commission dedicated to employee participation is established at the CNEL (the National Council for Economics and Labor), tasked with monitoring and promoting the implementation of the new provisions.
Challenges and opportunities for companies
The definitive approval of the law on employee participation represents a significant milestone in the landscape of Italian industrial relations, which have so far been resistant to the possibility of including workers in the active management of companies (as has long been the case, for example, in the United States and, to some extent, in Germany).
This is a regulatory intervention that, for the first time in an organic and structured way, promotes modern and advanced forms of employee involvement in company life. In a context marked by profound economic, technological, and social transformations, the choice to promote a participatory model proves to be particularly strategic: collaboration between companies and employees can indeed be a decisive factor for more inclusive, sustainable, and competitive development.
The law guarantees the voluntary nature of company participation. The legislator has chosen not to impose a generalized obligation to implement the new forms of participation, but to leave it to individual companies to decide whether and how to adopt them (in accordance with what will be provided for in collective bargaining), based on their organizational characteristics and the dynamics of industrial relations. The absence of participation provisions in company bylaws or collective agreements is, in fact, equivalent to a choice not to adhere, without the need for a formal procedure or explicit declaration.
Companies are now called upon to reflect on the opportunities offered by the new law. The adoption of participatory tools can represent a competitive advantage, fostering a more collaborative company climate, greater employee motivation, and better management of organizational changes, as well as providing a fiscal benefit. However, the decision to adhere or not must be carefully considered, taking into account company specifics, employee expectations, and market conditions.
