Smart Working, funding opportunities

The sudden revolution

Following the DPCM of 9 March 2020, known more commonly as the “I stay at home Decree” and containing the measures to combat the epidemiological emergency from COVID-19 (coronavirus), Smart Working has become the new watchword for Italian companies.

The term “Smart Working” means a method of execution of the subordinate employment relationship characterized by the absence of time or spatial constraints and an organization by phases, cycles and objectives, established by agreement between employee and employer with the objective of helping the worker to reconcile work and private life.

In the last two weeks, what was still a marginal aspect of working life, has imposed itself by arrogance in the reality of our country. The sudden change, however, took most companies by surprise, who found themselves forced to face a sudden change, often without having the necessary tools.

Business opportunities

For this reason, today more than ever, the two calls, promoted by the Lombardy Region and the Lazio Region, for the adoption of Smart Working Business Plans are particularly interesting.

Funded by the respective POR FSE, the calls are a support measure for companies that intend to adopt innovative models of work organization, through the development of business plans and the adoption of adequate IT tools, to adopt agile work tools or “smart working “.

Specifically, the two calls provide for the provision of a grant in the form of vouchers to companies and holders of VAT numbers for the use of:

• ACTION A: consultancy and training services aimed at adopting a smart working plan with related company agreement or company regulation approved and advertised on the bulletin board and on the company intranet;
• ACTION B: purchase of “technological tools” (hardware and software components) functional to the implementation of the smart working plan.

The projects

The interventions for the adoption (Action A) and implementation (Action B) of the business plans of Smart Working must be articulated as follows:

Action A – Support for the adoption of the Business Plan:

1. Activities preliminary to the adoption of the business plan;
2. Training activities aimed at management / middle management and smart workers;
3. Initiation and monitoring of a pilot project.

Action B – Support for the implementation of the Business Plan

1. Purchase of technological equipment.

Purchase of technological The value of the contribution varies according to the total number of employees of the operating offices / production units located in the territory of the Region concerned at the date of submission of the application..

Further information

For the Lombardy Region, it is possible to submit the loan application starting from 02/04/2020 until 15/12/2021.

For the Lazio Region, on the other hand, applications will be open starting from 12/03/2020, until resources are exhausted.

The complete text of the calls is available on the dedicated web pages.

Region Lombardia

https://www.fse.regione.lombardia.it/wps/portal/PROUE/FSE/Bandi/DettaglioBando/Agevolazioni/avviso-adozione-piani-aziendali-smart-working

Region Lazio

http://www.regione.lazio.it/rl_formazione/?vw=documentazioneDettaglio&id=52218