The rights and rules for millions of disabled people and caregivers in Italy are changing. In fact, there are several innovations regarding law 104 of 5 February 1992, a historic pillar of our welfare. Between the Supreme Court, trade union agreements and structural reforms, let’s see what the main changes are and what changes for those who benefit from the measure. These are not formal changes, but concrete innovations that directly impact the daily lives of families. The three most significant innovations that have just come into force redesign the management of hourly permits in the public administration, open the doors to state guarantees of up to 80% for the purchase of the first home and undermine the old obligation of night shifts and on-call, extending protections also to those who assist family members with minor disabilities.
Exemption from night work
The first important innovation comes from the Supreme Court order no. 20229 of 16 June 2026. The provision clarifies that the worker’s right to refuse to carry out night shifts to provide care to a family member is no longer tied to the requirement of serious disability. To exercise this right, it is sufficient for the family member to have the recognition of disability pursuant to law 104, regardless of the level of severity. However, the law imposes two stringent constraints, since there must be an effective and proven relationship of daily assistance and the disabled person must be fiscally dependent on the worker. On the contrary, the simple civil disability report is not considered a sufficient requirement to obtain exemption from working during night hours.
News for mortgages
From 3 August 2026, people with severe disabilities have been officially included among the priority categories of the Guarantee Fund for first home mortgages managed by Consap. The benefit is also extended to caregivers who have lived for at least two years with a child, brother or sister suffering from a serious disability. The Fund normally covers 50% of the principal amount of the loan, but the state coverage rises up to 80% for families with an ISEE indicator of no more than 40 thousand euros. Moving the space, the maximum ceiling of the loan that can be paid is set at 250 thousand euros and luxury properties or properties of historical-artistic value are strictly excluded from the benefit, as well as applicants who already own other homes. It is important to underline that the measure does not constitute a non-repayable contribution at all, but rather a public surety guarantee aimed at facilitating access to bank credit for those who do not possess the initial liquidity necessary at the time of the stipulation.
“Double” permissions
A recent interpretation of the Aran has revolutionized the management of absences for employees of the central functions sector of the public administration. Two different caregivers who assist the same disabled family member can now benefit from hourly leave on the same day. The only categorical prohibition remains that of overlapping time, as the hours of absence must be distinct or consecutive. To give a concrete example, one worker can be absent from 8am to 12pm and the second from 12pm to 4pm. This new flexibility applies exclusively to the time permits provided for by the collective agreement of the central functions, within the maximum limit of 18 hours per month, while for employees of the other public sectors and for the entire private sector the more rigid previous criteria still remain in force.
Who are the beneficiaries
The benefits linked to law 104 are available both to the citizen with disabilities and to the family members who take care of them. The group of legitimate caregivers includes the spouse, the part of the civil union, the de facto partner and relatives or relatives up to the second degree, with the possibility of extension to the third degree only in the presence of specific legal conditions. Starting from 2022, the legislation has overcome the old constraint of the single contact person, allowing multiple family members to alternate in caring for the same disabled person, even if the maximum limit of permits remains set at a total of three days per month for each patient. The package of active protections also includes the right to paid extraordinary leave for a maximum of two years over the entire working life, priority in choosing the place of employment closest to the family member’s home and the absolute prohibition on company transfer without the employee’s prior consent.
How to apply
The channels for accessing protection vary based on the service requested by the citizen. To access the Consap mortgage fund it is necessary to submit an application directly to a banking institution participating in the initiative, attaching the valid ISEE certificate, the income documentation and the preliminary purchase and sale contract of the property. Consap takes approximately 20 working days to approve the guarantee and, once the green light has been obtained, the mortgage deed must be formalized within the following 90 days.
As regards the assessment of the state of disability preparatory to law 104, the definitive transition to the new centralized evaluation system under the exclusive competence of the INPS is currently underway. The practical testing phase of the new medical-legal procedures has been extended from March 2026 to another 40 Italian provinces, with the ministerial objective of completing the definitive transition and bringing the new model into full operation across the entire national territory starting from January 1, 2027.