The podcast that explores the world of work through the lens of the law. Curated by Attorneys Stefano Trifirò, Mariapaola Rovetta Arici, and Jacopo Moretti – Trifirò & Partners Avvocati
How Much Is a Salary Really Worth?
Participation, Sustainability, and New Forms of Bargaining in Light of Law No. 76/2025
Talking about remuneration today means questioning governance models, organizational culture, and corporate value-based policies. The recent Law No. 76/2025, which entered into force on 10 June, fits squarely within this new paradigm: employee participation is finally recognized as a structural element of corporate competitiveness, no longer merely an ancillary option rooted in union or ideological frameworks.
With this legislative measure, the legislator introduces an innovative framework that brings the Italian legal system closer to well-established European models, notably by providing for an unprecedented possibility: the inclusion of employee representatives on corporate boards of directors. This represents a shift likely to have significant and lasting impacts on both industrial relations and corporate governance.
Moreover, the legislator himself suggests that the real challenge is not regulatory but cultural: today, remuneration also reflects a corporate culture that must encompass welfare policies, inclusion, gender equality, ESG sustainability, and organizational well-being.
In this context, remuneration becomes an expression of the value the company attributes to work and to the individual—a tool for employer branding and employee retention, as well as a lever to attract talent in an ever-evolving labor market. The centrality of the worker is therefore also measured by the organization’s ability to structure coherent, transparent, and traceable remuneration systems.
Ultimately, remuneration ceases to be a mere economic figure and becomes an identity marker—a measure of the quality of internal relations, the level of inclusion, the transparency of processes, and, more broadly, the corporate culture that each organization chooses to embody.
