Temporary Work Agencies in Italy. Evolution and Impact on the Labour Market

In the European Labor market coexist several forms of employment . They dif-fer in various aspects, such among others the length of assignment, the contrac-tual arrangement and the access to social protection. These forms of employment are both regulated at EU level and at national level. Currently the Italian labor market has undergone a restructuring process due to the relatively recent arrival of new forms of employment contract (compared to the rest of Europe), to the end to the public monopoly in employment policies and to the far-reaching changes in labor law. These are some of the factors that are changing the “rules of the game” in company-employee relations and have had a significant effect on the dynamics of the Italian temporary work agency (TWA) sector. In particular, two events had a crucial effect on ending the state’s monopoly over the labor market: Decree no. 276 of 2003, at least in terms of the regulations on private intermediaries, is part of a reform trend that began in 1997 when two pieces of legislation were passed that, firstly law no. 196/97 (the so-called Treu law) and secondly decree no.469/97.