Workers’ rights in Italy: pay, the busta paga, and what to do if you are not paid

One thing about Italy first, because it differs from Spain and Portugal: Italy has no statutory minimum wage. What you are owed comes from the collective agreement (CCNL) for the sector you work in. We print no figure on this page — we tell you where the figure lives and how to look at it.

Where your pay is written down

CCNL — Contratto Collettivo Nazionale di Lavoro

Every sector in Italy has its own national collective agreement — the CCNL — and the minimum pay for each grade (livello) is written in it. Restaurants, construction, agriculture and domestic work each have their own. You can read them yourself: CNEL keeps the national archive of collective agreements, which is the official source and holds the authentic texts as deposited by the organisations that signed them. The direct question to ask an employer is: “Quale CCNL si applica e quale livello?” — which CCNL applies, and which grade? Not getting an answer is itself a signal.

Reading your busta paga

Every month you should receive a busta paga. It is proof that you worked, at what grade, and for how much. Keep them — a PDF or a photo counts if you get nothing on paper.

Since 1 July 2018 an employer in Italy may not pay wages in cash. Whatever the contract and whatever the amount — an advance included — the money has to arrive by a traceable route: a transfer, a cheque, or payment over a bank or post-office counter on the employer’s own account. The labour inspectorate enforces it.

That rule is useful to you beyond the principle: cash in an envelope leaves no trace of what you were paid, and the trace is what a claim is built on. Keep your own daily record of hours as well.

If you are not paid

You can claim unpaid wages even without documents. Under Italian law pay is still owed for work actually done, even where the work was not properly authorised — the work happened, so the wages are due.

The concrete step is the richiesta di intervento ispettivo — a request that inspectors look at the workplace. It is filed at the Ispettorato territoriale del lavoro for the province where you work, by the worker, a union representative, or anyone else who knows of the breach. Attach everything you have: the contract, the busta paga, your own sheets of hours and days worked, witnesses. The form is published online in several languages, and it is sent by post or email with a copy of an identity document. It cannot be used to challenge a dismissal — that is a different route.

We still print no time limit, because it depends on what exactly you are claiming. Ask a patronato before you count days; there it is free.

Where to get free help

• Patronato — the Ministry of Labour’s official list — there is a recognised list, and this is it. The ones you are most likely to find in any town are ACLI, INCA (linked to the CGIL union), INAS (CISL) and ITAL (UIL). A patronato does not charge you for this kind of help.
• CGIL — A large trade union, with dedicated migrant offices.
• Ispettorato Nazionale del Lavoro — The national labour inspectorate. A complaint can be filed here.