First there was company bargaining focused only on remuneration policies. Then the birth of corporate welfare, in an initial “Cinderella” phase of the negotiations and subsequently with a growing and increasingly decisive role. In recent years – also thanks to the post-2008 crisis – it has become the heart of second-level bargaining. The last two years have, in many respects, redefined work and, consequently, also bargaining. The main event was the large-scale entry of smart working, which from 1 April will come out of the emergency phase to become a widespread and structural practice in all respects.
The impact of agile work
The performance of the activity in hybrid mode, in some cases with the clear prevalence of remote work compared to that in the company, will increasingly be a change with a multiple impact. In fact, this trend necessarily implies a revision of the entire company organization and many companies are already imagining a remodeling of the welfare systems, in existence and in the planning phase, having understood the now urgent need to implement more peripheral systems. and less “company-centric” than in the past.
During the pandemic period, many employers found themselves having to / want to provide perquisites (benefits strictly related to work) to its employees, in consideration of the higher costs incurred by them for remote work, implementing initiatives dictated, in most cases, by the contingent emergency situation and the consequent rapid measures required to deal with the situation. Today, however, there is a more systematic approach on the part of companies in the management of welfare systems.
The new services
Service providers are enriching their offer with new benefits, such as canteen at home, conciliation services taylor made and provided where the employee works, services that can be used remotely, which will inevitably be essential tools to allow flexible and efficient management of welfare systems.
Despite the changing needs of the company and workers, however, the tax legislation, which must always be taken into account, has not yet been updated and very often represents a brake on the implementation of modern and efficient solutions.