# Sick leave in Italy: employee support FAQ

> Plain answers for EOR and payroll support teams on Italian sick leave: medical certificates, pay during sickness and the checks employers can request.

Sick leave questions reach support teams fast. Employees want to know what to send, who pays and what happens if someone checks. This FAQ gives short answers you can adapt for your own help centre. It stays at the level of process. Exact amounts and durations depend on the national collective agreement (CCNL) that applies to the employee, so your data should come from the contract, not from a general rule.

## Certificates

**Does the employee send a paper certificate?**
No. In Italy the doctor issues the medical certificate electronically and sends it to the national social security body, INPS. The employee does not carry a paper copy to the employer in the normal case.

**How does the employer get the certificate?**
The employer reads it through the INPS channel, using the protocol number of the certificate. The employee should give that protocol number if the employer asks for it. Your platform can store the protocol number against the absence record.

**What must the employee do on the day of illness?**
Tell the employer without delay, using the channel the company has set. Many contracts and company rules say how and by when. The employee should also ask the doctor for the certificate right away and keep the protocol number.

**What if the employee forgets to notify the employer?**
The absence can be treated as unjustified. That can lead to disciplinary steps. Support teams should say clearly that notice to the employer and the certificate are two separate duties.

**Can a certificate be corrected or extended?**
Yes. If the illness continues, the doctor issues a continuation certificate. If there is an error, the doctor can cancel or correct it. The employee should ask the doctor, not the employer, to fix it.

**What about hospital stays or work accidents?**
These follow separate rules and separate channels. Work accidents and occupational illness are handled differently from ordinary sickness. Route these cases to a specialist rather than answering from this FAQ.

## Pay during sickness

**Who pays the employee?**
Two sources can be involved. INPS pays a sickness allowance for many categories of employees. The employer then pays an integration or the full amount, depending on the CCNL. In practice the employer often advances the payment through payroll and recovers the INPS part.

**Is the first part of the absence paid?**
Often there is a short waiting period where INPS does not pay. In that period the CCNL decides whether the employer pays anything. Do not give one answer for all employees. Look up the contract.

**Does the amount depend on the contract?**
Yes. The CCNL sets the percentage of pay, the length of the paid period and any rules on integration. Seniority and category can also change the result. Keep these values in a verified table per CCNL, with the source and the date you checked it.

**Is there a limit to how long the job is protected?**
Yes. The CCNL sets a protected period for illness, often called the comporto. During it the employer cannot dismiss the employee for the illness. After it ends, the employer has more options, and the employee may ask for unpaid leave if the contract allows it. Support should escalate any case near the end of this period.

**Does sickness affect holidays and other pay items?**
It can. Some items depend on attendance, such as certain allowances. The CCNL and company rules decide. Payroll should flag these items in the payslip notes so the employee is not surprised.

## Checks

**Can the employer ask for a check?**
Yes. The employer can request a medical check, called a visita fiscale, through INPS. A doctor then visits the employee at home during set hours of availability.

**What does the employee need to do?**
Be at the address on the certificate during the availability hours. If the address is different from the home address, the doctor must write it on the certificate. If the employee has to leave for a medical visit, tests or another serious reason, they should be able to prove it afterwards.

**What if the employee is not at home?**
An absent employee without a valid reason can lose part of the allowance and face disciplinary action. A missed visit is recorded and the employee is usually asked to give a justification. Rules on exemptions exist for some conditions, so support should not promise either outcome.

**Can the employer check on its own?**
Not freely. Italian law limits how an employer may monitor sick employees. The official medical check is the normal route. Support should discourage managers from calling the employee repeatedly or using investigators without legal advice.

## What a good support answer looks like

- State the duty: notify the employer, get the certificate, keep the protocol number.
- State who pays, and say the split depends on the CCNL.
- State the check rules and the availability duty.
- Give a clear escalation path for long absences, accidents and disputes.
- Cite the contract source, never a guess.

A clear process lowers ticket volume and avoids payroll errors. It also protects the employee, who often writes in when unwell and needs a short, correct answer.

Partnership teams that want to connect absence data to their own platforms can request the data-exchange specification.

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Source: https://italyincountry.com/articles/sick-leave-italy-employee-support-faq.html · 2026-10-27