With Circular No. 1076 of 24/05/2022 the National Labor Inspectorate changes its historical orientation, dating back to 2010, under which the employer's responsibility was to be measured based on the number of workers involved and violations committed.
THE RULE ON EMPLOYER RESPONSIBILITY
The art. 174 paragraph 14 of the Highway Code, regarding employer responsibility for violations of transportation regulations, in regulating the matter concerning the duration of driving vehicles used for the transport of people or goods, states that “…the company that, in carrying out transport, does not comply with the provisions contained in the regulation (EC) No. 561/2006, or does not keep the required documents or keeps them expired, incomplete, or altered, is subject to an administrative penalty of a payment from 333 euros to 1,331 euros for each employee to whom the violation refers, without prejudice to the application of the penalties provided for by criminal law where the act constitutes a crime…”.
THE INTERPRETATIVE ISSUE ON CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY
In recent years, on numerous occasions, the courts consulted have applied the regulations inconsistently, generating confusion and highlighting the need for clarification from the Institutions.
Among many, the most important is the very recent ruling of the Supreme Court of Cassation (n.10327/2020) which established that the sanctions under art. 174 paragraph 14, or concerning corporate responsibility, are to be measured exclusively in relation to the number of drivers.
THE NEW ORIENTATION
This thesis, always considered the most reasonable by Siak Sistemi, has been brought to the attention of the Central Directorate for Legal Coordination of the Labor Inspectorate which finally, with the mentioned circular, has changed its orientation, establishing that:
“the company that does not comply with the aforementioned paragraph 14 in the execution of transports is subject to an administrative monetary sanction measured exclusively by the actual number of workers to whom the violation refers, while the number of detected violations is completely irrelevant.”
In light of the mentioned circular, it will be interesting to analyze the further developments that will involve the matter.