The Italian Social Security Institute (INPS) has released an updated summary of the rules governing reimbursement of wages paid to employees who take time off work to donate blood. The document also includes the new instructions for completing the Uniemens electronic payroll report, effective from the October 2025 reporting period.
Employees in the private sector – including domestic workers and agricultural workers – are entitled to one paid day off, covered by INPS, for voluntarily donating blood.
For such leave to be eligible, the donation must:
- Be unpaid
- Be at an authorised centre
- Involve at least 250 grams (i.e. a full donation).
The day (or hours) of absence to donate blood also count(s) towards pension entitlements, through notional contributions.
The remuneration due corresponds to what the employee would have earned for regular work, limited to fixed and ongoing salary items, thus excluding bonuses or variable elements.
If a worker is deemed medically unfit to donate, and this is certified by a doctor from the blood centre or collection unit, compensation is only provided for the time needed for the medical assessment.
The reimbursement of the relevant remuneration can be done in two ways:
- Offsetting using the Uniemens flow (standard method)
- Applying online for reimbursement, although this can only be used for employers who cannot offset—such as in the case of domestic or seasonal agricultural work.
From October 2025, a procedural change will apply for employers using the Uniemens system: in order to offset reimbursement, they must indicate the tax code of the local health authority (ASL), hospital or volunteer association/federation responsible for the collection unit where the donation was made. As such, employers will need to collect this information in advance.
