INAIL (Istituto Nazionale Assicurazione Infortuni sul Lavoro, Italian National Institute for Insurance against Accidents at Work) administers compulsory insurance covering employees against workplace accidents and occupational diseases. Enrolment is mandatory for virtually all employers with subordinate workers; self-employed persons in certain risk categories must also register.
Employer contribution rates vary by industry risk classification and are applied to the gross wage bill. INAIL compensates injured workers for temporary and permanent disability, funds rehabilitation and occupational reintegration programmes, and pays survivor benefits in fatal cases. Employers are required to register before the first day of employment and report any workplace accident that results in more than three days of absence.
Failure to register or pay INAIL premiums exposes employers to back-payment of all omitted contributions, substantial administrative fines, and potential criminal liability in the event of an accident. In practice, INAIL compliance is routinely verified during public procurement checks and the DURC (Documento Unico di Regolarità Contributiva, single contributory regularity certificate) process.