Alberto has amassed an outstanding reputation in the management of in-court and out-of-court litigation relating to employment-related, unions and social security issues. He has accrued sound experience in procedures for the transfer of businesses, as well as in the planning and implementation of restructuring plans. These include the reorganisation and downsizing of domestic companies and Italian subsidiaries of international groups. He has an in-depth knowledge of trade unions laws.

What attracted you to a career in employment law?

Ever since I was a child, my dream was to become a lawyer: over time this dream turned into a decision, and it was realised more than 20 years ago. The passion for employment law was born while studying this subject during university, and so after graduation I had no doubts about which career to pursue.

How is AI and technological developments transforming the employment arena?

Employers today increasingly rely on artificial intelligence to conduct their business, in particular by using new technologies to perform human resources functions that require a high level of judgement (e.g. to recruit, monitor employee productivity or recommend termination). However, I think it is important for employers to ensure that such tools do not create and/or perpetuate existing imbalances. Indeed, these tools leave many unanswered questions about their accuracy and their ethical, legal and privacy implications.

Has there been an increase in collective dismissals and redundancies as a result of the global economic downturn?

The Italian government, throughout the emergency period and until 31 December 2021, introduced a series of measures to support companies and imposed a ban on individual and collective redundancies. However, once this ban came to an end, the general situation of difficulty brought about by covid-19 led to an increase in the number of redundancies, especially collective ones. In this regard, it is important to point out that, in order to face this phenomenon, the Italian government has introduced a law which came into force on 1 January 2022 and provides for a special information and consultation procedure for companies with 250 or more employees if they wish to shut down individual production units, thus fully decommissioning the relevant activities, and dismiss at least 50 employees.

What do you enjoy most about your role as an employment specialist and partner?

The fact that Italian labour law legislation is constantly changing is what I enjoy most about my work as an employment specialist, as it requires me to be updated with the latest developments. As a partner my role involves the operational management of the firm, but what I enjoy most is being able to contribute to the growth of younger associates and transfer all my knowledge to them, so that one day they can become partners of the firm, as I did.

How has the EU’s Work-Life Balance Directive impacted the labour market after three years in force?

In Italy, the EU’s Work-Life Balance Directive was transposed only by Legislative Decree No. 105 of 30 June 2022 (which came into force in August 2022), so its effects and impact in the Italian workplace have not yet been observed. Certainly, it will be a useful tool to achieve gender equality in the work and family sphere.

What are the most common causes of employment disputes and how can clients try and minimise the risks of them occurring?

The most common cases are those concerning individual and collective dismissals. Given that Italian law provides for different regimes of protection for employees, as well as different sanctions for both formal and/or substantial reasons, the main task of the employment specialist is, therefore, to assist the client in all the stages preceding the dismissal in order to verify that all profiles have been carefully assessed before proceeding with the dismissal.

Why did you decide to set up your own firm?

After more than 10 years of experience in a multi-practice law firm, covid-19 and the period of uncertainty that followed led me and the other partners of the firm to reflect on what project could give us renewed enthusiasm after such a strenuous period.

It was then that the project to create together a boutique law-firm, but characterised by the international relations built up over a career spanning more than 20 years, re-emerged.

What excites you most about the future of employment law?

Hoping that the end of the global economic crisis can be resolved as soon as possible, for the future I hope to be involved by clients to contribute to the development phase of their companies, through the drafting and preparation of development and incentive plans for their employees.