The employees of Valeas SpA, a historic chemical and pharmaceutical company founded in 
1934, demonstrated in front of the Milan office of Assolombarda. “We are in the process of collective redundancies.
After being purchased in July 2022 by the company Neopharmed Gentili SpA, today 34 out of 81 workers risk their jobs [15 Area Manager], and all this despite a growing turnover. The mobilization came as a result of what we believe to be unfair behavior towards a healthy reality like ours which over the years has pursued increasing profits in the face of respect for the dignity of workers", the employees underlined.
"We say no to these layoffs and ask the company to relocate the workers because it is possible to do so, as long as you want to," said Luigi La Delfa, CGIL trade union delegate.
“These people are being sent home purely for speculative purposes. This is not entrepreneurship, this is not work. But investment funds that ruin companies and workers”, Valeas employees say again.
TGCOM24 – 20 October 2022
Note: The "fired", as specified above, are 34 employees out of 81, 12 Area Managers. The ISFs are 150 false VAT numbers, falsely autonomous and as such without any social security protection, unless they report the company for false VAT numbers in order to obtain the transformation of the autonomous contract into a subordinate contract, as is their right.
Related news: Neopharmed Gentili acquires Valeas
The false VAT numbers
The employment relationship has the typical characteristics indicated in theart. 2094 of the Civil Code: the employee "undertakes himself through remuneration to collaborate in the company, providing his intellectual or manual work employed and under the direction of the entrepreneur".
The profession of Pharmaceutical Representative is regulated by Legislative Decree 219/06, in particular the art. 122 traces its requirements and activity. In paragraph 3 it says that "The activity of scientific representatives is carried out on the basis of a employment relationship established with a single pharmaceutical company. By decree of the Minister of Health, on the proposal of AIFA, derogations from the provisions of the previous period may be envisaged, due to the size and characteristics of the companies”.
Although the agency contract is widespread, the ISF are not and cannot be commercial agents (see sentence of the Cassation n. 19394/2014), in the sense that they do not conclude, and cannot do so due to the laws in force, sales contracts.
L'art. 69-BIS of Legislative Decree no. 276/2003, unless proven otherwise by the client, establishes that the services provided by persons with a VAT number are reclassified as employment relationships (false VAT numbers) if At least two of the following conditions:
- The collaboration with the same client has a total duration of 8 months per year for 2 consecutive years (letter a - time criterion);
- The fee deriving from this collaboration, even if invoiced to several subjects attributable to the same center of attribution of interest, constitutes more than 80% of the total annual fees received by the collaborator over the course of 2 consecutive calendar years (letter b - turnover criterion);
- The collaborator has a fixed workstation at one of the client's offices (letter c - organizational criterion).
It is evident that the isf agent working for a single client (multi-mandates must be authorized by the Ministry of Health) and the consideration they receive comes from a single "customer" cannot by law be VAT numbers
If the aforementioned indexes exist and in the absence of proof to the contrary, the self-employment relationship with a VAT number must be reclassified into a permanent employment relationship, pursuant to articles 61 and 69 of Legislative Decree no. 276/2003.
Evidence of subordination can be provided by any means permitted in the process of work: from the testimonies of colleagues to chat on Whatsapp with the boss and superiors. To the obligation to submit reports on the activity carried out, presentation of work programs to the company, company provisions on work, etc. The important thing is that the continuity of the work performed emerges, the obligation to be present in the workplace, o availability, in the established time slots, stable and effective inclusion in the company organisation, full and constant submission of the subject to the employer's directives and a fixed, periodic and predetermined remuneration based essentially on the working hours performed.
The inspection bodies will also have to, during the requalification of the employment relationship, draw up the single assessment report to be sent to INPS and INAIL, for the recovery of contributions and bonuses and determine the administrative pecuniary sanctions for non-fulfilments.
Related news: False agent contract. …and false VAT numbers
False VAT numbers. Two emblematic sentences
Open letter from a reader. ISF false VAT numbers. Ed
