Work, "Reduced wages for everyone": Your employer can reduce them by as much as they want | The absurd decree has passed.

Salaries will be cut, and this applies to everyone; the employer can reduce them at any time without notice.

In recent weeks, a genuine concern has been spreading among Italian workers: that employers could be given the freedom to cut wages at any time, even without notice.

On social media and elsewhere, announcements of all kinds have been made, sparking concern among Italian citizens that wages will continue to lose not only their purchasing power, but also their nominal value.

But is it possible that employers have all this freedom? Considering the difficulties that have plagued the world of work in recent months, it's easy to understand why some unpleasant surprises are possible.

So let's try to understand what's happening and why all this is happening.

What does the law provide?

To obtain concrete answers on this matter, we must first understand whether or not there is actually a law that allows employers to make such a decision. There are circumstances in which companies could make decisions that are detrimental to citizens. This refers specifically to the management of severance pay (TFR), or the employee severance pay (Trattamento di Fine Rapporto) , which often causes confusion among workers and companies. Article 2120 of the Italian Civil Code addresses this issue, confirming that severance pay is a form of deferred compensation due to the employee upon termination of employment, subject to certain exceptions provided by law for advances.

Yet recent legislation allows for the withholding of severance pay in certain cases, especially if you resign without giving the proper notice. This was confirmed by the Court of Naples , which deemed the possibility of withholding severance pay legitimate.

But what happens then?

It should be emphasized that this is not an arbitrary penalty, but rather an accounting offset between two contractual obligations. The employer should only withhold the amount corresponding to the missed notice and cannot unjustifiably reduce or deduct amounts from the salary or severance pay.

Strictly speaking, there appears to be no new law that would allow employers to cut wages. The rulings speak of notice and obligations on the part of both employers and employees. The judges' decision does not introduce any new law, but rather applies a rule that has existed in the Civil Code for years, simply clarifying its limitations.