A recent agreement has been reached on a new collective economic agreement for around 200,000 agents and sales representatives in the commercial sector. The agreement, which will be valid from July 1, 2025, to June 30, 2029, introduces several significant changes.
One of the most noteworthy changes pertains to the protection of agents in the event of unilateral changes by the contracting companies. The agreement standardizes provisions related to changing areas to those already established for the industrial sector, thus strengthening the agent’s position if the company decides to modify commissions, products or customers. Besides, it is specified that the contracting company has a duty to provide the agent with all the necessary information for carrying out the assignment.
The deal also recognizes commissions on sales to private consumers via e-commerce. At the end of the mandate, all extra-commission amounts paid by the contracting company will be considered in the calculation of various contractual and legal institutions, for instance, contractual changes, the FIRR (Fund for Termination Indemnities), additional customer’s compensation, meritocratic compensation, notice substitute compensation, and post-contractual non-competition agreement compensation.
In case the agency contract is signed with a partnership, the end-of-relationship indemnity will be paid even if the plurality of the partners should disappear due to company dissolution, retirement, disability or death.
The agreement also provides for an increase in the upper limits for calculating the FIRR, thus improving the amount that the agent will receive at the end of the mandate. As from January 1, 2026, the commission limits for calculating compensation in the event of contract dissolution will go up to 18,000 euros for non-exclusive agents and to 36,000 euros for exclusive agents.
The management of disputes has been updated, with the introduction of trade union committees for settling disputes between agents and principals. For disputes related to end-of-relationship compensation, conciliation at the trade union site will exclusively be performed by the industry associations that signed the agreement, also through the Territorial Joint Commissions.
Finally, on the social level, the agreement introduces significant changes in favor of protecting parenthood and fatherhood. The father trade agent is recognized the opportunity to be absent from work for a maximum of 20 days within five months from the birth or adoption of a child, on the condition that the contracting company may not terminate the contract, which will remain suspended.
