More rights and protections for Italian family caregivers with the reform passed by the government. But funding is scarce and there is the unresolved issue of end-of-life care.
For the first time, after a decade of debate, Italy is taking shape a regulatory framework that recognises the social, human and economic value of those who daily assist a family member who is not self-sufficient or has a disability, treating them as a genuine worker. Someone to be protected and also paid — albeit with a minimum wage that is decidedly low (just over 4 euros an hour), for now almost entirely symbolic. The family caregiver reform, passed by the Council of Ministers and subject to amendment by Parliament, is already seen by some as an important cultural milestone, because it puts in black and white a simple principle that has remained implicit for too long: care is essential work, even when it takes place within the home. For others, the more critical voices, it amounts to little more than a handout — if not an outright mockery.
The heart of the reform, as noted, is more cultural than economic. The bill introduces, first and foremost, a legal and symbolic recognition of the figure of the family caregiver, with particular attention to the primary cohabiting caregiver — that is, the person who bears the greatest care burden. This is a conceptual turning point: care is no longer treated as an exclusively private responsibility, but as a social function that concerns the entire community. As Minister for Disability Alessandra Locatelli explained, after years of failed attempts, "the Government is finally passing a law to uphold the dignity and recognition of the many people who love, who care, and who do not want to be replaced, but supported in this complex task of caring and living".
Alongside formal recognition, the bill introduces national economic protection, albeit very modest: a contribution of up to 400 euros net per month is envisaged for cohabiting caregivers engaged for at least 91 hours per week (i.e. 13 hours a day), with an annual income below three thousand euros and an ISEE indicator not exceeding 15,000 euros. The resources allocated amount to 257 million euros per year at full capacity, starting from 2027. According to Locatelli, this represents the "highest and most certain funding ever identified" in ten years of proposals that have remained on paper — yet it objectively still seems far too little: a maximum of 4.4 euros per hour on the assumption of 400 euros for 91 hours.
One of the most innovative aspects of the measure concerns non-economic protections, which are decisive for the quality of life of caregivers: the possibility of replacement within 24 hours in the event of an emergency, psychological support, medical visits and teleconsultations, priority access to healthcare services, and timely planning of care.
Not only that: the caregiver will be able to access the health data of the person being assisted (with their consent), will have the skills acquired through caregiving recognised for the purposes of a potential qualification as a socio-healthcare worker or other figures in the socio-healthcare sector, and will thus be able to facilitate future re-entry into the workforce. In addition, the caregiver will have the right to modify the hours of their "regular" job, including switching to part-time work, smart working, and the use of solidarity leave (donated by colleagues), and will have greater anti-discrimination protections against penalising behaviour linked to caregiving activity. For young caregivers, provisions include compatibility between national civil service and caregiving, exemptions from university fees, recognition of educational credits, and the valorisation of caregiving experience in school-to-work pathways.
Measures that in some way attempt to reshape rights, schedules, access and opportunities. Yet, as we have seen, there is no shortage of shortcomings. The most glaring one certainly concerns the extreme selectivity of access to the economic contribution, which — in addition to being modest — leaves out a large proportion of caregivers: those who do not cohabit, those with a high care burden that nonetheless falls below the set threshold, those who only marginally exceed the income limits.
The other limitation is not inherent in the text itself, but is programmatic in nature: the passage of the family caregiver bill had been announced by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni during the end-of-year press conference, in response to a question about the bill on end-of-life care: "I believe the task is not to facilitate pathways for people to end their lives, but to find pathways that prevent loneliness, abandonment, and situations that make suicide appear to be a solution. That is what we have done with a measure on the family caregiver that we will soon bring to the Council of Ministers," she had said, setting the two issues in opposition. It is no coincidence, then, that Pro Vita & Famiglia now expresses "satisfaction" at the approval of the caregiver bill: "Let this choice now translate into a coherent political line: if we protect those who care daily for the most vulnerable, then we must stop those who want to open the door to assisted suicide." The risk, in short, is that one issue ends up precluding the other, despite the so-far unmet demands of civil society and the Constitutional Court alike.
