January 15, 2026
Equal opportunities – Discrimination
Expiring residence permit: automatic exclusion from hiring is discriminatory
Tribunal of Milan
A trade union brought a case before the Tribunal, complaining that a company operating in temporary employment had an internal policy excluding non-EU citizens with expiring residence permits from recruitment if the remaining validity was shorter than the mission requested by the client. In such cases, the company either did not hire the individual or offered contracts only up to the permit’s expiration.
The company defended the policy citing potential criminal liability for employing workers with expired permits without renewal requests.
The Tribunal rejected preliminary objections and, on the merits, deemed the policy discriminatory. Current law allows a foreign worker to continue employment while awaiting renewal, provided the renewal application has been submitted and a receipt is available.
The Judge concluded that requiring proof of renewal at the hiring stage – when the permit’s expiration is not imminent – disadvantages a specific group of candidates, constituting indirect discrimination. Sanctions for the employer apply only after the permit expires without a timely renewal request, not at the selection stage.
