This time let’s talk about work, and in particular employment, for some interesting updates.
As it is still summer time, when holidays are enjoyed, I point out the importance of ... using them.
Holidays are in fact a fundamental right of the worker; some prefer not to enjoy them in full and get an allowance in lieu at the end of the year.
If, however, the employer invites the employee to take them, it is advisable to do so, because under certain conditions one may otherwise lose them, without being entitled to the aforementioned allowance, so states the Italian Court of Cassazione in a recent ruling.
Another novelty for Italian employers, who have a hard time finding workers and face many difficulties if they try to get them from abroad: they can turn to Temporary Employment Agencies, which can now also hire foreigners.
Of course not everything is so extremely simple, but the bulk of the bureaucratic side would be done by the Temporary Employment Agencies, so for many employers this could be a new opportunity!
Finally, the salaries shall be disclosed and comparable to all other workers: in order also to reduce gender differences in salaries, this year's European Directive 970 stipulates that - not immediately, however, but from 2026 - workers will have a right to information on average salary, disaggregated by gender.
The taboo of salary secrecy falls, in the name of fighting pay discrimination.
The most diligent companies, however, could respect it even earlier, especially if the trade unions, also those in the company, start demanding its implementation.
The information I give here is necessarily of a general nature, but for any further information, just ask and I will be happy to give you more details.
As European consumers, it will be useful for us to learn this new acronym: GPSR, which stands for General Product Safety Regulation. It is useful to us because it introduces new protections throughout the European Union for consumers.Some rules are indeed already there, but they date back to 2001 and must therefore be updated in the light of the major changes that have also taken place in commerce, in particular with the rise of online shopping.
It also and especially applies to online sellers of products: among the aspects that affect us most as consumers, the removal from sale of products that are found to be dangerous within 2 days of receiving orders from the authorities, but also the obligation to process any complaints from consumers within 3 days.
For products that have already been sold and are recalled by the seller/manufacturer, we shall have the right to a replacement or refund.It will be compulsory to indicate the manufacturer's contact details, so that the consumer can easily communicate his claims.
Also for products coming from outside the EU, a responsible entity, against which we can assert our rights, will have to be made known from the moment of purchase.
The GPSR will come into force at the end of 2024, but we can be confident that many companies will already start complying with it now.
And as a corollary to this, the news that if we inadvertently sign 'unfair' contractual clauses in a purchase, even online, we have even more time to challenge them. This was ruled by the Italian Court of Cassazione in a judgment of 6 April 2023, but perhaps I will tell you more about that some other time.
As a lawyer, I deal with various aspects of civil and commercial law, which you can learn about in my social media profile.
But as a private citizen and consumer, I am like many a traveller and tourist. Holiday time is approaching, and so it is good to remind you of some rights to which we are all entitled, as reaffirmed by case law in recent decisions.
If your luggage is delivered to you late after a flight, you are entitled to reimbursement of the expenses you incurred to purchase essential goods. Proof of the indispensability of the purchased goods can be provided by a travelling companion, as a witness to the event. This is the decision of the Court of Cassation, which decided a case crystal clear last February 2023.
But even more frequent is the case of cancellation of a flight, due to a strike: airlines invoke this as an exceptional case, in order to evade their obligations to reimburse travellers, provided for by European regulations.
In a ruling last February, no. 4261, the Italian Court of Cassation, in a case of cancellation due to a strike by air traffic controllers, established that this exemption exists, only if there is no room for the adoption of measures, sufficient to neutralise or minimise the sacrifices imposed on the users concerned.
It is therefore not sufficient to state in general and abstract terms, that an air traffic controllers' strike is an 'exceptional circumstance', that exempts an airline from the duty to pay compensation to its travellers.
Let's hope your holiday travels will be smooth, but keep in mind that there are European rules that protect all of us travellers.
Come avvocato mi occupo di vari aspetti del diritto civile e commerciale, dei quali potete apprendere nel mio profilo sui social.
Ma come privato cittadino e consumatore, sono anche io, come moltissimi, un viaggiatore e un turista. Si avvicina il tempo delle vacanze ed allora è bene ricordare alcuni diritti che spettano a tutti noi, come sono stati ribaditi dalla giurisprudenza in recenti decisioni.
Se vi consegnano in ritardo il bagaglio dopo un volo, avete diritto al rimborso delle spese, che avete sostenuto per acquistare beni di prima necessità. La prova della indispensabilità dei beni acquistati può essere data da un vostro compagno di viaggio, quale testimone della vicenda. Così afferma la decisione della Corte di Cassazione, che lo scorso febbraio 2023 ha deciso in modo cristallino un caso come questo.
Ma ancora più frequente è il caso di cancellazione di un volo per sciopero: le compagnie aeree lo invocano come caso eccezionale, per sottrarsi agli obblighi di rimborso dei viaggiatori, previsti dalle normative europee.
Con una sentenza dello scorso febbraio la nr. 4261 la Cassazione, in un caso di annullamento per sciopero dei controllori di volo, ha stabilito che tale esimente c’è solo se non sussista alcun spazio di intervento per l’adozione di misure sufficienti a neutralizzare o comprimere al minimo i sacrifici imposti all’utenza interessata.
Non è sufficiente quindi affermare in via generale ed astratta, che uno sciopero dei controllori di volo sia ‘circostanza eccezionale,’ che esonera la compagnia aerea dal dovere di corrispondere la compensazione pecuniaria ai propri viaggiatori.
Speriamo i vostri viaggi di vacanze siano senza intoppi, ma teniamo presente che ci sono regole europee, che tutelano tutti noi viaggiatori.
Sono altre le notizie da prima pagina e questa può essere sfuggita a molti. Si tratta però di una notizia importante, che riguarda sia le imprese che i privati.
Dal 28.2.23 si applicano nuove norme sui processi, civili e penali. Altre entreranno in vigore il prossimo 30.6.23. E’ la cosiddetta riforma Cartabia, che si propone di far funzionare meglio e più velocemente la macchina della giustizia.Se gli avvocati si sono preparati, ci sono alcune cose da segnalare a cittadini e imprese, nel caso siano parte di un processo.Mi limiterò necessariamente ad alcune, data l’ampiezza dell’argomento.
Dire e esibire tutto subito. Ancora più che in passato si devono presentare sin dall’inizio del processo tutti i fatti, circostanze, documenti prove a proprio favore. Tirarli fuori in un secondo momento sarà inutile e si potrebbe perdere la causa, anche se si avesse ragione.
Verificare costantemente la PEC. La notifica a mezzo Posta Elettronica Certificata è diventata il mezzo normale per trasmettere gli atti giudiziari. Imprese e professionisti sono obbligati ad averla, ma anche i privati possono decidere di dotarsene. La PEC equivale a tutti gli effetti di legge alla tradizionale raccomandata con ricevuta di ritorno: ad esempio i termini per reagire, impugnare un atto o presentare una risposta decorrono da quanto la PEC è arrivata nella casella del destinatario, non quando viene aperta.
Nel campo penale diversi reati contro la persona (come il reato di lesioni personali stradali gravi o il reato di lesioni personali, anche lievi), nonché alcuni delitti contro il patrimonio (come la truffa aggravata), nonché altri reati per i quali era prevista la procedibilità d’ufficio, divengono ora punibili solo nel caso in cui sia presentata querela dalla persona offesa.
Sono solo alcuni dati; ovviamente nel caso in cui siate parte di un processo, tenete presente che ci sono tante regole nuove e fatevi assistere da un professionista capace.
There are other headline news and this one may have been missed by many. However, it is important news, which affects both companies and private individuals.
As of 28.2.2023, new process regulations, both civil and criminal, apply. Others will come into force on 30.6.2023. This is the so-called Cartabia reform, which aims to make the justice machine work better and faster.If lawyers have prepared themselves, there are a few things to point out to citizens and companies, in case they are party to a trial.
I will necessarily limit myself to a few, given the breadth of the topic.
Tell and exhibit everything at once. Even more so than in the past, one has to explain all facts, circumstances, evidence in one's favour from the beginning of the trial. Pulling them out later will be useless and you may lose the case even if you were right.
Constantly check the PEC (i.e. Certified Electronic Mail). Notification by PEC has become the normal means of transmitting judicial documents. Companies and professionals are compelled to have one, but private individuals may also decide to equip themselves with it. For all legal purposes, the PEC is equivalent to the traditional registered letter with return of receipt; i.e. the time limits for reacting, challenging a deed or submitting a reply run from when the PEC arrived in the recipient's box, not when it is opened.
In the criminal field, several offences against the person (such as the offence of severe road injuries or the offence of bodily harm, even slight bodily harm), as well as some offences against property (such as aggravated fraud), and finally as well as other offences for which prosecution was “ex officio”, now become punishable only if a complaint is lodged by the offended person.
These are just a few details, of course, in case you are a party to a proceedings, bear in mind that there are many new rules and get the assistance of a capable professional.
Con un po' di ritardo rispetto al termine previsto, ma dall’inizio di quest’anno, anche in Italia come in tutta la Unione Europea ci sono maggiori tutele per i consumatori. La normativa di riferimento è la direttiva U°E 2161 del 2019.
Quali consumatori ma anche quali imprese e i professionisti che vendono i beni o danno i servizi ai consumatori, c’è da tener presente che:
a) Il termine di 14 giorni per esercitare il recesso in caso di contratti “a distanza” è esteso a 30 giorni. Tra l’altro è possibile rinunciare a questo diritto, ma deve essere fatto in modo molto chiaro ed esplicito.
b) Per vendite straordinarie, saldi e sconti, anche e soprattutto online, deve essere indicato anche il prezzo più basso praticato nei 30 giorni precedenti.
Imprese e professionisti, oltre a quanto sopra, devono tener presente che:
c) sono stati introdotti nuovi casi di pratiche commerciali scorrette e sono stati ampliati i casi di clausole “abusive”, che non saranno più valide, anche se approvate dai consumatori al momento della firma del contratto, apponendo la loro doppia firma.
Professionisti e imprese dovranno perciò rivedere le proprie prassi e soprattutto le proprie condizioni generali di vendita, anche online. Va detto infatti che anche il solo utilizzo di clausole abusive espone a pesanti sanzioni.
d) Le sanzioni irrogate dall’autorità garante della concorrenza e del mercato sono state aumentate, in particolare, in caso di mancato rispetto dei provvedimenti della stessa autorità.
Interessante novità è che imprese e professionisti hanno la facoltà di interpellare l’Autorità Garante della Concorrenza, con riferimento alle clausole contrattuali che intendono predisporre nei contratti con i consumatori
Come consumatori possiamo comprare con maggiore tranquillità; come imprese e professionisti dobbiamo avere maggiore consapevolezza di ciò che è consentito e ciò che non lo è, nei rapporti con i consumatori finali.
Somewhat later than planned, but since the beginning of this year, there are more consumer protections in Italy as well as throughout the European Union. The reference legislation is EU Directive 2161 of 2019.
As consumers but also as businesses and professionals, who sell goods or give services to consumers, it should be noted that:
(a) The 14-day period for exercising withdrawal in the case of 'distance' contracts is extended to 30 days. Among other things, it is possible to waive this right, but it must be done very explicitly.
b) For extraordinary sales, sales and discounts, also and especially online, the previous 30 days' lower price must also be clearly indicated.
Companies and professionals, in addition to the above, must bear in mind that:
(c) new cases of unfair commercial practices have been introduced and the cases of 'abusive' clauses have been extended. They will no longer be valid, even if approved by consumers at the time of signing the contract, and even if they have been double-signed.
Professionals and companies will therefore have to review their policies and especially their general terms and conditions of sale, including online. Indeed, it must be said that even the mere use of abusive clauses exposes them to heavy penalties.
d) The sanctions imposed by the Competition and Market Authority have been increased, in particular, in the event of non-compliance with the measures of the same authority.
An interesting new provision is that businesses and professionals have the right to apply to the Competition Authority with regard to the contractual clauses they wish to include in consumer contracts
As consumers we can buy with greater confidence, as businesses and professionals we must be more aware of what is allowed and what is not allowed, in dealings with consumers.
