Regularisation: INPS dispatches social security contribution forms

  

The National Social Security Institute (Instituto Nazionale Previdenza Sociale, INPS) has begun sending letters to employers who applied to regularise their domestic workers.

The letters are also being sent to the employers who are still waiting to be summoned to the Immigrations Office at the Prefecture to undersign the Residency contract.

They contain a form to be used in making social security contributions for the period ranging from 1st July 2009 to the moment the employer and the worker will undersign the Residency contract. This is being done to enable the employers to make the payment in instalments so as to avoid having to pay the whole amount at once at a later stage.

The forms being sent to the employers have a temporary code for identifying work relationships reported during the application for regularisation of illegal and undeclared workers.

Each employer will receive two already filled in forms corresponding to the third and fourth trimester of 2009. The amount of contributions to be made is calculated on the basis of the information provided during the application for regularization of the worker. 

The hiring date indicated on the forms is 1st April 2009. Working hours indicated are those declared in the application form for regularization. In case one declared fulltime, then 54 hours per week is indicated on the form.

The hourly pay taken into consideration is the minimum wage established by the National Collective Agreement for Domestic Work. It also takes into consideration the worker’s position as declared in the application for regularization.

In case the worker’s pay corresponds to hours of work or if the working hours are higher than those on the payment forms, one can use the blank payment forms enclosed.

INPS has also affirmed that the criminal, civil and administrative sanctions foreseen by the law for undeclared work, and for hiring an illegal immigrant will only be condoned definitely if the application for regularisation of an illegal domestic worker is accepted.

Even if the worker and the employer have terminated the work relationship, the worker and the employer must necessarily report to the Immigrations Office at the Prefecture when summoned to formalise the end of work relationship by indicating the reasons for its end.

The employer will have to pay the social security contributions to INPS for the period in which the foreigner worked for him/her.

All illegal domestic workers who follow this procedure will have the possibility of applying for the Permit of Stay for Job Search (attesa occupazione).

Even if the employer alone reports to the Immigrations Office at the Prefecture, he will have to undersign the contract and renounce it right away.

Attention: social contributions must be paid to INPS even if the application for regularisation is rejected. If the employer fails to make the social security contributions, INPS may impose a penalty on the default contributions which will consist of a fine and a penalty interest.