New measures to protect health and safety in the contracting industry: decree law no. 159/2025

The Senate is currently discussing the conversion of this 'Safety Decree-Law' into law through hearings with the social partners, with the aim of gathering opinions and proposals aimed at strengthening prevention and safety protection. 

The provisions of the aforementioned Decree-Law on prevention in the field of contracts and subcontracts are mainly concentrated in Article 3, which introduces, first and foremost, guidelines for the National Labour Inspectorate (so-called INL). 

It is established that the National Labour Inspectorate's checks must be carried out as a matter of priority on employers who carry out their activities under public or private subcontracting arrangements. 

This provision is part of the regulatory framework outlined by Decree Law No. 19/2024, implementing the PNRR, which in Article 29 requires the establishment of an 'INL Compliance List', i.e. a computerised list of employers who have undergone safety inspections and found to be in compliance.

As already established by Art. 18 of Legislative Decree No. 81/2008, Decree Law No. 159/2025 confirms the obligation for companies operating under contract or subcontract to provide their employees with an identification badge bearing a unique anti-counterfeiting code and containing the worker's personal details and the name of their employer.

Compared to the previous regulations, the Security Decree adds the obligation – only for companies operating on construction sites under contract and subcontract – to adopt, in place of the traditional identification badge, a digital construction site badge bearing the worker's identification details. 

This digital badge may also be issued electronically and must allow for (i) automatic detection of attendance on site; (ii) monitoring of labour flows; and (iii) integration with the SIISL platform.

It has also been provided that a subsequent decree of the Ministry of Labour may extend this obligation to other sectors considered to be high risk. 

In any case, the operating procedures for the use of this digital badge must be defined by a specific ministerial decree, to be issued within 60 days of the approval of the conversion law.

As is well known, the credit-based license, introduced by Law No. 56/2024, is a points-based qualification tool for companies and self-employed workers operating on temporary or mobile construction sites, aimed at ensuring compliance with prevention regulations.

Issued in digital format by the National Labour Inspectorate after verification of the prescribed requirements, the license has an initial score of 30 credits, which may be increased or reduced depending on the results of the final measures issued against employers, managers and supervisors of companies or self-employed workers, in the cases and to the extent indicated in Annex I-bis attached to the Consolidated Law.

In this context, the Security Decree has first of all established that in cases of irregular work – i.e. the employment of subordinate workers without prior notification of the establishment of the employment relationship – the reduction of the company's credits must take place at the time of notification of the assessment report issued by the competent supervisory bodies, increased from 1 to 5 points. 

There are also plans to raise the maximum administrative penalties from €6,000 to €12,000 for companies and self-employed workers operating on temporary or mobile construction sites without a license or with fewer than 15 points.  

Of particular importance is the provision aimed at strengthening the flow of information between the Public Prosecutor's Offices and the INL, according to which the Public Prosecutor's Offices are required to promptly transmit to the Institute all the information necessary for the adoption of measures to reduce or suspend credit-based licenses, based on the objective and subjective elements contained in the reports of the public officials who intervened at the scene and in the immediate vicinity of the accident.

The innovations introduced by Decree Law No. 159/2025 were welcomed by the majority of the social partners, considering that it is precisely in this area that the most dramatic accidents occur, as in the well-known cases of Brandizzo, Florence and Casteldaccia. 

However, there has been no shortage of criticism of the measure. 

Many commentators believe that the legislator should have taken the opportunity offered by the Decree Law in question to include additional fundamental provisions to ensure full and effective protection for workers, such as: (i) requiring contractors to make responsible choices when selecting subcontractors, (ii) prohibiting cascading subcontracting, and (iii) eliminating lowest-bid tenders.

With regard to the introduction of the digital construction site badge, it has been noted that this employer obligation should be extended to all workers, regardless of their contractual status, without limiting its application to the construction sector. Furthermore, it was also pointed out that if this card were reduced to a mere identification tool, it would not be a sufficient measure to promote legality and safety on construction sites, making it necessary to link it to the employment contract between the parties and to the tracking of working hours.

With regard to the amendments made to the credit-based license system, it was noted that the measures providing for the acceleration and increase of penalty points should also be applied to other violations, other than the irregular employment of workers. At the same time, it was highlighted that, in addition to penalties, reward measures should be put in place, as well as methods for recovering credits through worker training.

Overall, Decree Law No. 159/2025 is a significant step forward in strengthening the system for the prevention of accidents at work, particularly in particularly sensitive contexts such as contracting, subcontracting and construction sites. The provisions introduced aim to strengthen control activities, ensure greater traceability of workers and make the credit-based license mechanism more effective. At the same time, the comments made during the hearings show that there is still considerable scope for consolidating a more widespread and meaningful culture of safety. The conversion of the Safety Decree will therefore be a crucial step in strengthening the system of protections outlined in the measure, pending the implementation of the ministerial decrees.​​