cottonbud

Does anyone have any advise on working for myself in Italy. I am looking at doing general maintenance/gardening or even some building work. I am a builder by trade and hving moved it Italy i am now looking for something a few days a week. i understand i have to register, does anyone know where and who with/costs etc.

clint

If I remember correctly if you earn less than €5000 euros pa there is no need to register but I am sure others can give you more info on this.

The government recently introduced a voucher system where people who needs to employ workers when necessary can buy vouchers (usually of the value of €10) with INPS contributions already included.

There is some info here unfortunately all in Italian

http://www.lavoro.gov.it/Lavoro/Prim...io.htm#sistema

It looks like your INPS office is your best bet for info

dean milan

hi, when i first arrived in italy i was self employed in the same industry as yourself...... advise..... dont do it!!! Firstly you have to open your partita iva, this is possible at any commercialista and is a minimum cost, insurance is a joke highly expensive, the first year you will not be taxed they will collect that the second year and so on and so on. you will always find work and the italians will always say yes yes yes until it is time to pay, this is where you will see the other side of this great nation (not all of them but a good part) you will also have to be carefull with your pricing as due to romania and bulgaria now being part of the eu they qre willing to work in groups for much less than half than what we would consider, any questions you need answering give me a shout i just happened to marry an italian accountant which is handy for this sort of information, either way good luck with whatever you do.

chris120

Dead right about Italians having short arms and deep pockets when it comes to paying their bills. My company spends thousands of £s collecting overdue debt, i spend a lot of time chasing out overdue debt. If you give them (say) 60 day terms it seems to be interpreted as they start to think about paying after 60 days rather than the money has to be in the receiver's bank by then. We have debts that are overdue more than 1 year. Italian business approach to paying is immoral and illegal, even when we build in price escalation for overdue they are still late and cry crocodile tears when you claim the escalation amount. The fact that they signed a contract doesn't seem to dawn on them. I really don't envy individuals doing business here and it seems the bigger the company the worse they are.

dean milan

not always my friend, you see the bigger the company the quicker they get dealt with..... ill give you an example, in june of 2004 i replaced a roof for a guy that had a villa that was divided into four apartments that he rented out a and made a small fortune every month, he gave me 10,000 of 28,000 euroes worth of work of which there was also the rendering of the outside of ther property and new tiles laid all the way through, i had to pay the two guys that worked for me the two months thatt we were ther and the materials, i am still waiting to here about the courtdate for the remaning 18k ................. 5 years on...... fair i think dont you

Mr Posh

I am quite lucky I design websites and I tell them if you do not pay me in 60 days I will write on your site you are bad payers....

I make sure that they host with me and tell them that the site is mine untill they pay...

The first couple said that they would take me to court if i did..I told them fine give me the court date and I will tell the judge why...

So far (touch wood) it's been ok.

clint

You should try and do credit control dealing with English companies then you will see what "nice" people you get, such as:

1) The most horrible man I have ever come across in Manchester who thought he could buy goods and pay when he felt like it and under no circumstances he should have been called for overdue payments tell his PA to tell me to F off when I rang (guess he should have told his PA to put the call on hold first, stupid man). I am afraid I shed no tears or even felt sorry for him when I heard he had a heart attack and died.

2) English companies that thought it was ok to pay foreign suppliers at 180+ days when the terms agreed were 30/60 days but because they were directly involved with some of the biggest high street chains, suppliers couldn't tell them to get lost or they would have lost the main retailers the following year

3) English company in London that when told no more goods were going to be shipped because there were invoices outstanding for over 6 months issued cheques (knowing they would bounce) in order to have goods released and by the time the cheques went through international clearing system had filed for bankruptcy. THAT'S FRAUD.

The joy (not) of 8 years of credit control chasing up English companies on behalf of foreign firms (from all over Europe and Far east)