Payslip
It must be handed over every month and shows hours worked, pay, contribution deductions and net amount paid. It is the document that proves payment.
CAF services · Domestic work
Domestic workers and live-in carers in Turin
Taking someone on to work in your home makes you an employer in every respect: contract, contributions, payslips, holidays, the thirteenth month, TFR (severance pay). The practice looks after the whole relationship, from hiring to the final settlement.
01 · Starting the job
How to hire a domestic worker or carer
Domestic employment is governed by the CCNL for domestic work (the national collective agreement), renewed periodically by the trade unions and employer organisations. It sets grades, minimum pay, working hours, holidays, leave and the rules on dismissal.
The first step is the hiring notice to INPS, which must be sent by midnight on the day before the job starts, even if that day is a public holiday. It is the only truly binding deadline in the procedure: a late notice is penalised, and the employment remains irregular until it is put right.
At the same time the grade is set. The CCNL has four grades, each with two levels, and where a worker is placed depends on the tasks actually carried out: a carer looking after a person who is not self-sufficient is graded differently from a domestic worker who does the cleaning, and differently again if they hold specific qualifications.
Checking the requirements
Identity document, codice fiscale (Italian tax code) and, for non-EU citizens, a residence permit that allows them to work.
Setting the contract terms
Grade, tasks, weekly hours, pay, whether the worker lives in, probation period, board and lodging.
INPS notice
Sent online by midnight on the day before the job starts.
Letter of employment
The worker receives a letter setting out all the terms of the relationship, as the CCNL requires.
The employment can be permanent or fixed-term, full-time or part-time, live-in or live-out. Each combination has its own rules on maximum hours, rest and pay supplements: setting them up badly at the start leads to disputes when the job ends.
02 · Payments
Quarterly contributions
Contributions for domestic work are paid every three months, not monthly. The amount depends on the actual hourly pay, the number of hours worked in the quarter and whether or not the worker lives in.
The contribution bands are updated every year by INPS. Part of the contribution is borne by the worker and deducted from their pay; the rest is paid by the employer.
- 1 to 10 JanuaryPrevious fourth quarterContributions for October, November and December
- 1 to 10 AprilFirst quarterContributions for January, February and March
- 1 to 10 JulySecond quarterContributions for April, May and June
- 1 to 10 OctoberThird quarterContributions for July, August and September
- When the job endsFinal paymentWithin ten days of the end of the employment, for the remaining period
How to pay
Payment is made with the MAV payment slips generated by INPS, through pagoPA (the Italian public payments platform), online banking or at authorised counters. The practice prepares the calculation and gives you the amounts already worked out.
- The contributions are deductible from the employer's income, up to the annual limit set by law
- The worker's share must be deducted from their pay, not added to it
- Late payment leads to civil penalties
- Hours must be counted precisely: the contribution band changes with the hourly pay
03 · Month by month
Pay, holidays and the thirteenth month
The CCNL sets minimum pay for each grade, updated every year in line with the ISTAT (Italian statistics office) index. Pay can be higher than the minimum but not lower.
Beyond basic pay, you have to manage the entitlements that build up over time and are often ignored until the job ends, when they all come due together.
Holidays
Twenty-six working days a year, whatever the weekly hours. They build up monthly and must be taken or paid out.
Thirteenth month
An extra month of pay, paid in December. It builds up in monthly instalments and is reduced proportionally if the employment lasts less than a year.
TFR
Severance pay builds up every year and is paid when the job ends. It must be set aside and revalued using the statutory coefficients.
Board and lodging
For live-in workers they form part of pay, at the standard values set by the CCNL.
Sickness and injury
The CCNL provides for keeping the job open and for pay during set periods that depend on length of service.
Paying cash without a payslip is not forbidden as such, but it makes it impossible to prove how much was paid. In a dispute the burden of proof lies with the employer: without documents, the worker's word prevails.
04 · Year end
Certificazione Unica and tax deductions
A household employer is not a sostituto d'imposta (withholding agent): they do not withhold IRPEF (Italian income tax) from pay. They must, however, give the worker, within the legal deadlines, a statement of the amounts paid during the year, which the worker uses for their own tax return.
On the employer's side, domestic work gives rise to two separate tax benefits that are often confused with each other.
| Benefit | What it covers | How it works |
|---|---|---|
| Deduction of contributions | Social security contributions paid for domestic workers, carers and babysitters | Deducted from total income up to the annual limit set by law |
| Tax credit for care workers | Pay given to people who care for someone who is not self-sufficient | A percentage tax credit on a maximum annual expense, with an income limit for the taxpayer |
The tax credit for care workers requires the lack of self-sufficiency to be shown by a medical certificate, and the expense to be documented. It does not apply to general housework: a domestic worker who does the cleaning does not give the right to this credit, even though their contributions remain deductible.
05 · End of employment
Resignation, dismissal and final settlement
The employment can end with the worker resigning, with the employer dismissing them, or because of events that make it impossible to continue, such as the death of the person being cared for.
Domestic work has one important feature: either party can end the employment freely, as long as notice is respected. There is no need for the just cause or justified reason required in other employment, because the rules restricting dismissal do not apply to domestic work.
The notice period varies with length of service and hours, and is set out in the CCNL. Whoever ends the employment without respecting it must pay compensation in lieu of notice.
- Notice of termination to INPS within five days of the end of the employment
- Payment of contributions for the remaining period within ten days
- Payment of the TFR built up and revalued
- Accrued portions of the thirteenth month and holidays not taken
- Any compensation in lieu of notice
- Final pay statement detailing every amount paid
When the person cared for dies
This is the most frequent and most delicate situation: the employment ends, but the final settlement falls to the heirs, who were often not party to the relationship and do not know its terms.
- The employment ends and the termination must be notified
- TFR, accrued portions and notice remain due and are charged to the estate
- The CCNL sets a specific notice period for this case
- It is wise to reconstruct the position before accepting the inheritance
Frequently asked
The questions that keep coming up
Do I have to employ the carer formally, or can I pay cash in hand?
The employment has to be made regular. Besides the penalties for undeclared work, an undeclared employment exposes you to very concrete risks: if there is an accident in the home and no insurance cover, the liability falls entirely on the employer.
There is also a practical effect that is often overlooked: without a contract you cannot deduct the contributions or claim the care expenses, and the person being cared for cannot rely on the employment to obtain benefits or public support.
What does a live-in carer really cost?
The total cost is not just the net pay. You must add the employer's share of contributions, paid quarterly, and set aside the thirteenth month and TFR, which build up every month even though they are paid later.
A rule of thumb: add roughly a third to the agreed monthly net pay to get the actual annual cost divided by twelve. The precise calculation depends on grade, hours and whether the worker lives in, and is done before signing.
Is a live-in carer entitled to holidays?
Yes. The right to twenty-six working days of holiday a year applies to all domestic workers, live-in or not, full-time or part-time.
With live-in arrangements the holidays must be organised so that care continues, often with a replacement. Holidays not taken must in any case be paid out when the job ends.
Can I dismiss a domestic worker without a reason?
In domestic work either party may end the employment freely: it is enough to respect the notice set by the CCNL according to length of service and hours, or to pay the corresponding compensation in lieu of notice.
The general prohibitions still apply, in particular the ban on discriminatory dismissal and the protection of pregnant workers, which also covers domestic work.
What is needed to hire someone?
Identity document and codice fiscale for both employer and worker; for non-EU citizens, a residence permit that allows them to work.
Then the terms of the employment: agreed weekly hours, grade and tasks, pay, start date, whether the worker lives in, and an IBAN for payments. With these details the notice can be prepared the same day.
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A carer is hired before starting work, not afterwards
The notice to INPS (the Italian social security institute) must be sent by midnight on the day before the job starts. It is the tightest constraint, and the one most often discovered too late.