Federal Act on Labour Law in Agriculture and Forestry (Agricultural Labor Act 2021 - LAG).

The purpose of this Act is to revise the employment and protection contract law of agricultural and forestry workers and employees, employed in private sector. In fact, the Act does not apply to workers employed in agricultural and forestry operations of the federal government, a state, a municipality or a municipal association. Workers in saws, resin processing plants, mills and dairies that are operated by agricultural and forestry cooperatives, provided that more than five employees are permanently employed in these, do not fall within the scope of this Act.
The Act defines agricultural and forestry companies and cooperatives as entities which mainly concern the processing of their own products including production and extraction of plant products with the help of natural forces, viticulture and fruit growing, horticulture and tree nurseries, keeping farm animals for breeding, fattening or obtaining animal products, hunting and fishing and the maintenance of cultural landscape.
The Act is divided into 27 sections and 431 articles. The Act specifies in detail the content of the employment contract, which can be drawn up in any legal form, and lists rights and obligations of workers and employers, both for fixed-term and permanent contracts. Unless objective reasons justify different treatment, fixed-term employees may not be disadvantaged compared to those with permanent contract. Article 13 concerns remote work and specifies that the employer must provide the digital work equipment required for regular work in the home office.
Concerning payment and salary, land use and animal husbandry may be granted as part of the payment on the base of the employment contract or, in the absence of such, on local usage. Section 5 and 6 detail parental leave and part-time parental live, both for fathers and mothers and other cases of reduction in working hours: educational leave, care leave, part-time work. Section 7 covers temporary employment of employees. Section 9 concerns company pension schemes. Section 10 concerns holiday and related rights.
The Act contains specific dispositions concerning equal treatment, maternity protection, protection of children and young people, sexual harassment, gender-neutral and non-discriminatory job advertisements, legal consequences of violating the principle of equal treatment, criminal provisions and compensation criteria. Specific references to family-based agricultural activities concern in particular: the improvement or construction of housing; the ratio between the number of co-employed, incapable family members and children and the goods to be paid as remuneration (articles 19 and 20).
Particular attention is paid to occupational safety and health protection measures (section 20, articles 185-255): this section particularly concerns determination and assessment of working materials, replacement and prohibition of hazardous substances, detailed measures to prevent danger, dispositions on personal protective equipment and work clothing, appointment of security specialists, safety experts and physicians. In order to conduct workplace inspections, the Act empowers the Agriculture and Forestry Inspectorate, defined as the expert assessment body in the field of worker protection in agriculture and forestry.
The Act provides for the creation of agricultural and forestry employer associations, in compliance with workers´ freedom of association and of agricultural and forestry arbitration boards, responsible for disputes about the conclusion, amendment or cancellation of company agreements in the cases provided for in this Federal Act.