Dependent self-employment – Italy as a good practice example

Abstract

The aim of the paper is to describe dependent self-employment phenomenon on the example of selected EU country -Italy. In Italy, not only hybrid category of dependent selfemployment is officially recognised and legally regulated, but also specific social protection is offered to dependent self-employed persons. Content analysis of relevant literature and legal documents was used to identify specifics of dependent self-employment in Italy. Results indicate that in Italy, regulation of dependent self-employment has undertaken remarkable changes in the past years. The latest labour market reform (Jobs Act) subsumed the most typical forms of dependent self-employment (contracts for "coordinated and continuous collaborations" and contracts based on specific projects) under the protection of Labour law regulation. Despite the persisting controversial attitudes towards this situation, the view of the positive trend in the development of dependent self-employment legislation in Italy prevails.