Not all occasional work is the same? That's right, because occasional work can be self-employed or carried out under someone else's direction and, depending on the case, the rules and formalities change.
So let's see whether the Occasional Work Contract (PrestO) is right for you.
1. Who can use occasional work?
📌 Business owners, professionals, the self-employed, associations, foundations and private bodies.
📌 Users with fewer than 10 permanent employees.
For those who organise conferences, trade fairs and events, or run spas or amusement parks, the limit rises to 25 employees.
⚠️But careful: businesses in construction, mining and public contracts, for example, are excluded. And for public administrations, PrestO is only valid in specific areas, such as cultural events or natural disasters.
2. Who can work as an Occasional Worker?
Anyone can be an occasional worker, but there are some rules to follow. PrestO cannot be used with someone who:
🚫 Already has an employment contract in place with the same employer.
🚫 Has ended an employment or continuous collaboration with that employer in the last 6 months.
If you break this rule, the relationship will be treated as full-time and permanent from the start, with all the employment-law consequences that follow.
3. How much is an occasional worker paid?
Here are the figures you need to know:
- 👷🏼♂️ The worker > must receive at least 9 euros net per hour.
- 🧑🏼💼 The user (the client) > must pay at least 12,41 euros per hour (contributions included).
⚠️But careful! Even if the worker only works one hour, they must be paid for at least 4 hours.
4. Earnings limits: no minefield, but watch the caps 💰
To prevent abuse, there are limits both for those who offer the work and for those who do it:
👷🏼♂️ Limits for the worker:
- They cannot earn more than 5.000 euros a year from all clients combined.
- With the same client, the limit falls to 2.500 euros*.
🧑🏼💼 Limits for the user:
- They cannot pay more than 10.000 euros a year to all occasional workers combined.
- For those working in sectors such as trade fairs or events, the cap rises to 15.000 euros.
✅Un piccolo vantaggio è previsto per i lavoratori svantaggiati (pensioners, students, unemployed people): for them, fees are calculated at 75%; users can therefore pay up to 12.500 euros a year
5. Maximum duration and setting up the contract ⏱️
Another thing to know is that a worker cannot exceed 280 hours a year with the same user. The user must also ensure that breaks and daily and weekly rest periods are respected.
Whereas in the past a so-called “occasional work receipt” was enough, today the work has to be registered through the INPS portal (“Occasional work and family booklet”). You must:
📌 Register both the employer and the worker.
📌 Top up the user's online wallet with the necessary funds (PagoPA or F24).
📌 Notify, at least 60 minutes before the work starts: the worker's details, place, duration and pay.
If the work is cancelled, it can be revoked within 3 days. After that, INPS goes ahead with the payment anyway.
A contract for everyone❓ Yes and no
The Occasional Work Contract is a great tool for one-off situations, but the rules must be followed to the letter to avoid fines or problems with the bureaucracy.
It's ideal for one-off “odd jobs”, but not suited to work that risks becoming continuous or particularly well paid.
If you're thinking of writing an occasional work contract, you can find a thousand fill-in templates online.
If instead you'd rather “sleep more soundly”, but first want to know how much expert help costs, fill in the 2-minute interactive form from Legaless® [LINK] and we'll help you hit the target 🎯
