To cope with the intrinsically discontinuous and intermittent nature that characterizes the work performance of subjects employed in the entertainment sector, in 1947 the Ente Nazionale di Previdenza e Assistenza per i Lavoratori dello Spettacolo (ENPALS) was established in the form of a public body. Its task was to manage compulsory insurance contributions for invalidity, old age and survivors of subordinate, para-subordinate and self-employed workers employed in this sector, divided into categories coinciding with the most widespread professions in the world of film, dance, fashion, music for the theatre and sport. In 2011, ENPALS was abolished and converged into the INPS (Istituto Nazionale Previdenza Sociale) as the Entertainment Workers’ Pension Fund (FPLS) and the Professional Sports Pension Fund (FPSP). The presence of the PSMSAD Fund (Painters, Sculptors, Musicians, Writers and Dramatic Authors) should also be noted, which promotes the training and affirmation of its members also in the international field, through various support systems, such as, for example, by assigning encouragement and industriousness prizes and granting contributions for study and specialisation trip expenses. However, given the small number of members (in 2020 there were only 874), the Fund has rather limited effects.
The pandemic seems to have given a new face to entertainment welfare. In addition to numerous temporary support measures, Decree Law n.73/2021, converted by Law n. 106/2021, strengthened the welfare safeguards dedicated to workers in the entertainment industry enrolled in the FPLS. Among the most significant interventions, there was the adaptation to the discontinuous nature of work in the entertainment sector through forms of support for maternity and paternity, the modification of the requirements to access allowances in the event of illness, a reduction in the daily contributions required to achieve the yearly contribution, as well as the improvement of the system of pension contributions. The most important change concerns the introduction, starting from January 2022, of the “Alas”, insurance for the involuntary unemployment of self-employed entertainment workers, who did not benefit from any similar protections. This system provides for the payment of a work allowance for a maximum period of six months in favor of workers who do not have current self-employment or subordinate employment relationships, who have accrued at least 15 days of contributions in the previous year and who have an income not exceeding 35 thousand euros. In addition to the above, there is a draft law linked to the budget maneuver which provides for a legislative delegation to the government, called to adopt one or more legislative decrees aimed at reorganizing matters relating to public support for opera, theatre, music, dance, circus and other performing arts. The measures include the introduction of a set of temporary economic support tools (“SET”) that take into account the structurally discontinuous nature of work within the entertainment sector.
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