Abstract

In recent years we have witnessed the emergence of a group of workers falling within the grey zone between the traditional notions of "employees" on the one hand and "self-employed" on the other. Different terms have been developed in order to describe and categorise this group; the most frequently used are "parasubordinate workers" or "economically dependent workers". Specific legislative provisions have addressed the grey area; in Italy a recent legislative intervention (Act n. 276/2003) has introduced a general assessment procedure to distinguish between employees and parasubordinate workers, based on a new criteria: the worker carried out a "project work". This article examines the "project work" from a critical point of view, indicating its characteristic features and the problems of the legal framework.