thus assistance to family members with disabilities becomes “shared” – Corriere.it

Farewell to the single contact person. Revolution for law 104 and for leave for the assistance of family members with disabilities. The assistance can now be shared, or rather divided among several referents. Legislative decree 105/2022, which entered into force in mid-August and detailed by INPS in an ad hoc communication, provides for this. In implementation of the EU directive 2019/1158, in order to reconcile work and private life for parents and carers, as well as to achieve the sharing of care responsibilities between men and women and gender equality in the workplace and family members, Law 104 of 1992 on extraordinary leave is in fact corrected.

Law 104, the news

So skip the rule of the single point of contact for assistance

, on the basis of which more than one employee could not be granted the possibility to take advantage of the days of leave to assist the same person in a situation of serious disability. The only exception concerned the parents of children with disabilities, who have always been recognized for the particular role they played.

Shared assistance

What changes then? Given that the three-day maximum leave for assistance to the disabled family member remains confirmed, that right can be recognized, upon request, to more subjects among those entitled, who can use them alternatively between them. In other words, several entitled persons can request authorization to use the permits alternately, for assistance to the same severely disabled person. In this way, the care burden can be divided among several family members, favoring a better reconciliation between personal, professional and family life. Another novelty: the right to extraordinary leave for assistance is extended by the spouse to the de facto cohabitant, even in the event that the cohabitation, if required by law, was established after the request for leave. Then comes the audience of those who can take advantage of permits and leave to assist a family member with severe disability is extended. Obviously, the use of permits and extraordinary leave subject to the request for authorization from INPS and the hours of leave must be used only in the interest of the person with disabilities, under penalty of dismissal.