Italy introduces new rules for digital platform work

At a glance

• Italy has approved legislation implementing the Platform Work Directive (Directive), introducing new rules for employees, self-employed workers and other collaborators working through digital labour platforms.
• From 2 December 2026, a rebuttable presumption of employment will apply where facts indicate that a platform exercises direction and control over a worker, including through automated monitoring or decision-making systems.
• Where the presumption applies, the platform will bear the burden of demonstrating that the relationship is genuinely self-employed, although employment status will still depend on how the work is performed in practice.
• Collective bargaining will play a central role in regulating pay and working conditions and implementing rights relating to algorithmic management, while certain regulated intellectual professions are excluded from the new presumption.
• The legislation also strengthens requirements relating to health and safety, violence and harassment, and transparency around automated systems, particularly where they affect pay or the organisation of work.

On 28 October 2026, the Council of Ministers gave final approval to the legislative decree implementing the Directive. The new framework applies to employees, self-employed workers and coordinated and continuous collaborators who provide services through digital platforms that organise work using digital tools and automated systems.

A key change is the introduction of a rebuttable presumption of employment. From 2 December 2026, the presumption will apply where the circumstances indicate that a digital platform exercises direction and control over a worker, including through automated monitoring or decision-making systems. Where this occurs, the burden will fall on the platform to demonstrate that the individual is genuinely self-employed. However, the presumption will not automatically result in the relationship being reclassified as employment. Employment status will continue to be assessed by reference to how the work is carried out in practice.

The presumption will not apply to individuals carrying out intellectual professions for which registration with a professional body is required.

The decree also gives collective bargaining a prominent role in determining pay and other working conditions and in implementing rights relating to algorithmic management. A dedicated monitoring body will also be established within the Ministry of Labour to oversee collective bargaining arrangements and the implementation of the new framework.

Further provisions address health and safety, the prevention of violence and harassment, and transparency in the use of automated systems, particularly where automated decisions affect workers' pay or the organisation of their work.

The new presumption of employment will take effect on 2 December 2026. For relationships already in place on that date, it will apply only to the period from 2 December 2026 onwards.