Periodic increases in seniority for employees
Starting from 1 January 1980, for every two years of service in the same company or corporate group (meaning the industrial complex belonging to the same company) employees are entitled, regardless of any increase in merit, to an increase equal to following monthly measurements:
| Qualification | Single click amount |
| Super employees first | 13.94 |
| Employee first | 12.95 |
| Employees second | 10.46 |
| Fourth level employees | 9.62 |
| Third party employees | 8.99 |
| Fourth employees | 8.20 |
The increase takes effect from the first day of the month following the month in which the two-year period ends. Every employee can accrue a maximum of five increases.
The periodic increases in question:
- absorb the increases already granted for the same title;
- however, they cannot be absorbed by previous or subsequent merit increases, nor can merit increases be absorbed by periodic increases accrued or to be accrued.
In case of passage to a higher category the amount of the periodic increases accrued in the categories of origin is maintained for the employee.
There fraction of a two-year period in progress at the time of the category change is considered useful for the purposes of accruing the two-year period in the new category.
Transitional provisions
For employees in force on 22 July 1979, the number of steps envisaged by the CCNL of 15 April 1976 remains in force (fourteen biennial steps) calculated, for matured shots from 1 January 1980, in the amounts described above. For the employees in question, the increments accrued between 1 July and 31 December 1979 are equal to 5% of the minimum monthly salary of the category to which they belong and the contingency allowance in force at the time of its accrual.
The increments already accrued as of December 31, 1979 are maintained in the amounts in force on the same date.
For each of the increments, starting from 1 January 1980, the sum of €2.58 per month is paid. For first super employees the amount of periodic increases accrued up to 31 December 1983 is equal to €12.84.
Professional construction seniority for workers
Unlike office workers and managers seniority increases are not foreseen for construction workers but, on the contrary, there is the institution of professional construction seniority (APE).
Compared to the steps described above, the APE accrues based on overall seniority in the construction sector, based on the complaints sent to the building funds (and not at the same company).
EPA funding
The EPA is financed by means of a contribution paid by the employer (included in the contribution to the Building Fund) calculated on the same elements of the salary used to define the provisions for holidays, Christmas bonus and annual rest. The contribution to cover the APE is determined in the amount established by the national social partners for each territorial district and is paid quarterly by the Building Funds to the National Construction Professional Seniority Fund (FNAPE).
Employers must pay a monthly APE contribution in an amount, however, not less than an amount that varies according to the Fund’s financing rate.
Maturation
The maturation of the APE is ensured at the moment in which the worker total at least 2,100 hours in a two-year period. In this regard, the hours of ordinary work, the hours of illness compensated by INPS, the hours of accident or professional illness compensated by INAIL, as well as absences due to compulsory maternity leave, parental leave and marital leave are taken as reference.
Liquidation
The Building Fund pays the APE on May 1st. The amount due is determined on the seniority accrued in the two-year period preceding 30 September of the year preceding the disbursement. The employer has the obligation to declare the hours of ordinary work totaled by the employee, in order to allow the determination of the amount due.
Change the minimum hourly with the APE
The APE contribution must be paid by employers:
- starting from 1 October 2022, for a minimum of 140 hours;
starting from 1 October 2023, for a minimum of 150 hours; - from 1 October 2024, over a minimum of 160 hours.
The minimum limit does not apply in the following hypotheses:
- start of employment relationship after the 13th of the month;
- termination of the relationship before the 19th of the month;
- absence for a total duration of no less than 60 hours in the same month due to redundancy, illness and injury, holidays and paid leave (within the limits, respectively, of 160 and 88 hours per year).
The APE minimum hours also change for the other construction collective bargaining agreements
The increase in the minimum hourly rate for calculating the APE to 160 hours, starting from 1 October 2024, is also foreseen for other CCNLs in the construction sector, such as:
- CCNL construction craft companies;
- CCNL construction cooperative companies.
