The ordinary employer framework in San Marino applies to the private sector under Legge 9 December 2022 n. 164. Public employers belong mainly to the Settore Pubblico Allargato and follow special rules administered through the Congresso di Stato and the Direzione Generale della Funzione Pubblica. The distinction affects recruitment, employment conditions, representation and organisational change. A private employer plans staffing needs, selects the contract type, assigns the employee to the correct qualification and job level, sets pay through the applicable Contratto Collettivo di settore (CCL), runs payroll, gives instructions, supervises work, provides training and handles personnel changes. Relevant sector agreements include industry, craft, public employment, commerce, construction and services. An indefinite contract is the normal form; fixed-term contracts require a specific legal basis. A part-time contract must be written and state its duration and working-time pattern. Part-time rights are generally proportional, while family allowances remain fully payable. Recruitment normally uses the Ufficio per il Lavoro e le Politiche Attive (ULPA), often together with the Centro di Formazione Professionale (CFP). Employers can use LABOR for online vacancies and CVs and can access employment lists and candidate information under Legge n. 171. A numerical request identifies the coded job, qualification and level. ULPA normally checks it within one working day under Decreto Delegato n. 130/2021. If no response arrives within five working days, the employer may be able to submit candidates directly. A named notification generally permits work to begin when ULPA receives it, subject to later checks. Corrections usually receive a five-working-day deadline. Appeals against an ULPA decision must generally be filed within ten days; ULPA decides within fifteen days, after which the Commissione per il Lavoro and then administrative or judicial proceedings may become relevant. Named recruitment of a person outside the lists can be restricted by domestic unemployment and profile rules. Exceptions can cover shareholders holding at least 20 percent, legal representatives, relatives up to the second degree including spouses, group-company employees, seasonal workers employed for at least three months in the previous year, special permits and managerial or specialised profiles. A worker from outside the European Union needs a permit that authorises employment. Private employment agencies are generally not permitted, although an employer may publish its own vacancy, use a non-commercial notice or receive expressly delegated selection assistance. The employer must keep the Anagrafe del Lavoro current and report every contractual-data change to ULPA or CFP. The employee must work in the requested category and qualification. A change of job duties must be communicated immediately to the employee and within sixty days to ULPA. If the payslip and ULPA records differ, the more favourable employee condition applies. Changes to part-time hours or overtime normally require at least three days' notice to ULPA; an emergency may be reported before work starts and followed by a notification within three working days. A breach can result in a EUR 1,000 penalty, doubled for a repeat breach. Payroll includes ISS social-security and accident insurance contributions, withholding of income tax, CCL-based pay and required reports. For 2026, the official ISS figures state an employer contribution of 17.60 percent to the Fondo Pensioni and 2.50 percent to FONDISS. Other contributions and reductions depend on the employee, sector, wage and applicable measure. The employer withholds the union service fee from gross pay and transfers it to ISS where applicable. Recruitment requests are generally exempt from stamp duty. Further employer costs can include the RSPP, personal protective equipment, safety training and occupational-medical monitoring. Workplace safety under Legge 18 February 1998 n. 31 covers private and public sectors, subject to special rules for uniformed corps. The employer assesses risks, updates the assessment when organisation, production or technology changes, prepares emergency and first-aid arrangements, supplies personal protective equipment, limits access to serious hazards, checks safety measures and coordinates employers working at the same site. The employer organises the safety service and appoints the Responsabile del Servizio di Prevenzione e Protezione (RSPP). The Rappresentante dei Lavoratori per la Sicurezza (RLS), meaning the workers' safety representative, must be consulted in advance. Employees receive information and training when hired, transferred, assigned new functions or exposed to new or changed technology. A medico del lavoro carries out medical surveillance where the risks require it, while the ISS Department of Prevention and its workplace-safety and occupational-hygiene units supervise public-health aspects. Employees elect or designate the RLS directly. There is normally one RLS, or two where more than 150 employees work. A joint RLS covering the production area may be used in a workplace with fewer than ten employees. An employer with more than ten employees must normally hold at least one meeting each year with the RSPP, RLS and medico del lavoro. The RLS may access the workplace and safety records, take part in risk consultation, receive training, contact public authorities and remain protected against disadvantage. Trade-union freedom, workplace structures, meetings and strikes are governed by Law n. 59/2016. Private-sector representation depends on the applicable CCL and arrangements with trade unions such as CSdL, CDLS and USL and with employer associations. The employer may give instructions and supervise work within the employment contract and CCL. A transfer to different duties may not worsen the employee's position and must be reported immediately to the employee and within sixty days to ULPA. A temporary distacco requires the employee's consent. A group-internal transfer requires continuity of the applicable CCL, duties, pay and acquired rights. A transfer of personnel between San Marino employers also depends on ULPA notification, agreements with unions or employer associations, group identity, continuity of the CCL, duties, pay and rights, or a commitment to retain staff during workforce reduction. The ULPA handles conciliation of employment disputes and can inspect records, issue prescriptions and impose sanctions. The Commissione Permanente Conciliativa deals with individual and collective private-sector disputes. An appeal against its decision generally goes within fifteen days to the Commissario della Legge acting as Magistrato del Lavoro. Legge n. 7/1961 requires employers to pay contributions and provide an employment certificate when the relationship ends. A waiver or settlement of statutory or CCL claims can be challenged within the applicable legal period and may be void. Workforce reductions can involve the Cassa Integrazione Guadagni and other social-support measures. Affected indefinite employees may enter a Lista Speciale. Where staffing is reduced, priority criteria follow current law and the CCL, and workplace solidarity agreements may be available. From January to September 2025, Cassa Integrazione Guadagni payments reached EUR 2,800,713 for 275 companies, with 89 percent attributed to temporary market conditions. Workforce transfers, reskilling, welfare and inclusion can qualify as supported objectives. Agile work is governed by Legge n. 202/2020 and an inter-confederal agreement. Employers must also protect privacy and avoid discrimination. They may not conduct prior or ongoing investigations into political or religious views, trade-union opinions, gender, sexual orientation or other irrelevant facts. The Garante Privacy, the Labour Inspectorate, ISS, unions, employer associations, the Commissione per il Lavoro and the labour courts each have different roles, so the responsible body depends on whether the matter concerns recruitment, records, safety, contributions, representation, a dispute or organisational change.
Employer in San Marino
In San Marino, an employer is a natural or legal person with a codice operatore economico and at least one subordinate employment relationship. Employers organise recruitment, contracts, pay, management, training, workplace safety and employee consultation. Private-sector employers follow sector agreements and rules administered by bodies such as ULPA, ISS and the Labour Inspectorate.
Tip
Treat the employer role in San Marino as a connected compliance process: recruitment, contract data, payroll, safety, employee representation and disputes affect one another. For a private-sector organisation, anchor each decision in the applicable CCL, the current ULPA procedure and the actual job duties. Keep dated records so the organisation can prove what it reported, paid, instructed and reviewed.

