Self-employed workers (Directive 2010/41/EU and some relevant provisions of the Recast Directive)

• Author: Renga, Simonetta
• Pages: 72-78

72

8Self-employed workers (Directive 2010/41/EU and some relevant

provisions of the Recast Directive)

8.1General (legal) context

8.1.1Surveys and reports on the specific difficulties of self-employed workers

The Italian labour market has always been characterised by a high level of self-

employment. According to an ISTAT (the National Institute for Statistics) survey, in 2017,

self-employed workers made up about 23.2 % of the total workforce (compared to an EU

average of 15.7 %). Despite a decrease in self-employment of over 10 % in the last nine

years, this accounts for a large part of the gross domestic product (about 18 %). This

sector includes many different occupations, such as farmers, professionals, shopkeepers,

quasi-subordinated workers (that is, a sort of dependent self-employed worker, known as

DSE, among whom the majority are women), small entrepreneurs and self-employed

workers without employees. Their work organisation and regulation can differ greatly. As

a consequence, each category has its own peculiarities. In general terms we can say that

their representative associations usually highlight the same chronic problems, that is a

lack of infrastructure, bureaucracy, delays in payments, absence of illness protection and

fiscal pressure. All categories ofself-employed workers have had to face the economic

crisis through income reduction, increased costs of production, or difficulties arising from

a more complex market.82

According to the results of a 2013 study by ISFOL (the Institute for the Development of

Vocational Training for Workers),83 another common and remarkable problem affecting

those in self-employment is the lack of professional training. In practice, resources are

mainly allocated to maintain workers in the employment sector and the cost of professional

training, which is compulsory only for some categories, rests entirely on the self-employed.

The research also showed the average self-employed person, irrespective of the category,

to be fully dedicated to their profession, performing the activity on his own, following a

typically and deeply-rooted male model of work, characterised by long hours, which tend

to extend intoand mix with private life. This is probably one of the main reasons why

women are traditionally underrepresented in self-employment and account for a lower

average turnover and income, than men. In fact, the research focused on professionals,

tradesmen, craftsmen, farmers and small businessmen, the majority of whom are men.

The problems faced by self-employed women are mainly linked to de facto obstacles rising

from double work in and out of the family or to old-fashioned stereotypes.

However, the diverse world of self-employment also includes quasi-subordinated workers,

where women are in the majority. These forms of collaboration – which also includes very

different situations, from the performance of a professional service in favour of different

customers to (in most cases) a job for a single employer, coordinated by the latter and

performed within his enterprise – are often arranged simply to save on social contributions

and to avoid the enforcement of labour law rules, but in practice hide an employment

relationship. To counteract the misuse of DSE contracts, contribution charges have been

gradually increased, reducing the gap in comparison with dependent work, and some strict

legal requirements for the contracts have been provided. The problems that can affect

these working relationships are obviously similar to those affecting employees, because

they are often carried out in the enterprise. The legislature has also extended the

protection against blank resignation to these workers.

82 ISTAT (2018), Independent workers - Data for 2017, available at:

https://www.istat.it/it/files//2018/11/Focus_indipendenti_2018.pdf.

83 ISFOL (2013), Lavoratori autonomi: identità e percorsi formativi (Self-employment: identity and

professional training) in: http://bw5.cineca.it/bw5ne2/opac.aspx?WEB=INAP&IDS=19286.