Clifford Chance

The extension of the regime of joint and several liability beyond service agreements

9 January 2018

By way of judgment no. 254 of 6 December 2017, the Constitutional Court extended to contracts with sub-suppliers (i.e. subfornitori) the regime of joint and several liability provided for employees of contractors by art. 29 of Law 276/2003 within service agreements (i.e. contratti di appalto).

The employees of sub-suppliers can therefore bring action directly against the principal in order to obtain the salary, social security and insurance payments that have not been paid by the employer.

The grounds for this innovative judgment make possible the extension of the regime of joint and several liability to all forms of indirect work and therefore, potentially beyond service agreements and sub-supply contracts governed by Law 192/1998.

In view of the extension of the regime of joint and several liability, it is accordingly appropriate that the contracts contain specific clauses protecting the principal.

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