Social shock absorbers in permanent employment relationships

term ‘social shock absorbers’ refers to a whole series of measures aimed at providing economic support to workers that take the form of instruments that companies resort to in cases where they are in crisis in order to reorganise their structure and thus reduce labour costs.

The main social shock absorbers provided for by Italian law are:

Ordinary Guarantee Fund (Cassa integrazione ordinaria – ‘CIGO’), intended for companies classified in the industrial and production sector;

Wage Integration Fund (Fondo di Integrazione Salariale – ‘FIS’), intended for firms outside the scope of CIGO (e.g., firms operating in the trade and services sector)

Ordinary Wage Guarantee Fund (Cassa integrazione straordinaria –‘CIGS’), intended for firms facing situations of a company reorganization, company crisis, or solidarity contracts.

Bilateral solidarity funds are funds established to provide income support instruments in the event of suspension or reduction of work for employees of companies belonging to sectors not covered by wage supplementation regulations.