Leader: Maurizio Del Conte (Bocconi); Other collaborator(s): UNIBO
In this topic we will analyze three distinct but related effects of population’s ageing on the labour market. If, in fact, the question of the protection of workers against discriminatory conduct on the grounds of age is spreading in Italy, a delicate aspect of intergenerational conflict also rises. The response of the lawmaker has so far been mainly oriented towards financing the early exit of older workers. Much less has been invested in policies to support the retraining and the updating of skills. The final goal of the research is to identify financially sustainable measures to promote active ageing by preventing age discrimination and supporting retraining and worker’s relocation.
Brief description of the activities and of the intermediate results:
November 2023 - March 2024- During the period we worked on the intergenerational index project with special reference to legal indexes. On 4 March the Age-it Spoke 7 Workshop was held at Bocconi University entitled "The state of progress in the construction of the intergenerational justice index from a legal and philosophical perspective".
We also supervised the San Siro legal clinic desk and held meetings to broaden the audience of elderly citizens who are potential users of the clinic's services. We supervised the activity of the students who collaborate with the clinic.
We are working on a paper to be presented about tasks and ageing, also exploring the connections with the concept of reasonable accommodation valid for disabled persons in the world of work. The paper will probably be submitted to a call for papers with a deadline in October 2024.
a. Topics we have explored
During this period, in addition to the supervision of the San Siro legal clinic, we focused on the development of some related research:
b. Several abstracts were also submitted in response to call for paper’s procedures.
c. Participation in national and international conferences
S. Sonnati
6 December 2024 - Speaker at the Adapt international conference entitled 'What do workers want today? An interdisciplinary Reflection on Representation, Industrial Relations and Labour Law. Title of the speech: Labour Law between demographic decline and extension of working life: towards the construction of an index of intergenerational justice.
M. Del Conte
13 December 2024 Speaker at the conference entitled THE NEW CHALLENGES OF LABOUR LAW BETWEEN UNIVERSALISM AND PARTICULARISM (Organised by AIDLASS and
University of Bologna). Title of the speech: The new trajectories of reasonable accommodation between demographic change and labour transformation
d. Publications
S. Sonnati
Il diritto del lavoro tra calo demografico e invecchiamento attivo: verso la costruzione di un indice di giustizia intergenerazionale, forthcoming (2025) in collected volume published by Adapt University Press.
e. Publications in progress
Older people's work and reasonable accommodation
(i) Legal Clinic activities
(ii) Research topic and activities
(iii) Recruitment procedures
A procedure has been announced for the selection of a subject with a co.co.co. contract in charge of collecting and analyzing data company best practices regulations and second level collective agreements specifically dedicated to the management of the older workforce
(iv) Participation in national and international conferences
January 2025 - S. Sonnati – Speech at a conference (Regolamento UE 2024/1689, intelligenza artificiale e diritto del lavoro Prospettive per i diritti della persona, il mercato del lavoro, la previdenza e le relazioni sindacali, 22-23 Gennaio 2025, Università Roma Tre, Rome). Title of presentation: Il diritto del lavoro alla prova delle trasformazioni tra questione demografica ed innovazioni tecnologiche.
(v) Research in progress
STATUS 31.12.2025
i) Legal Clinic activities
The process of supervising the students at the San Siro legal clinic has continued
(ii) Research topic and activities
Conducted research activities on ageing, technological change and artificial intelligence, with particular attention to:
- the legal definition of the “older worker”;
- the impact of digital technologies on work organisation and employability;
- the conceptualisation of technological accommodation as a possible evolution of reasonable accommodation in labour law.
(iiii) Participation in national and international conferences
Organisation of the Conference “Silver Society, Law, and Rights: Between Work and Care” – Bocconi University, Milan, 9 October 2025
Participated in the scientific organisation and dissemination activities of the conference, contributing to interdisciplinary dialogue on ageing, labour, and care policies.
Prepared and delivered a speech – Maurizio Del Conte: “The Aging Workforce as a New Perspective for Labour Law”.
Prepared and delivered a speech – Silvio Sonnati: “Labour Law, Demographic Change, and Generational Challenges: Towards the Construction of an Index of Intergenerational Justice”.
Silvio Sonnati - Prepared and submitted an abstract for the National Age-IT Conference (Naples oCTOBER 2025): “Demographic Ageing, Technological Innovation and Labour Law: Reconstructing Legal Strategies for Inclusive Age Management”.
Silvio Sonnati Participation in Call for Papers – Italian Society of Labour Sociology (SISSEC)
Silvio Sonnati - Paper selected for presentation entitled:“Il diffondersi dell’intelligenza artificiale nei contesti organizzativi e «older workers» tra problemi definitori della categoria, profili di accomodamento tecnologico e ruolo della contrattazione collettiva.”(paper selected for presentation on 29 January 2026).
(iv) Pubblication
S. Sonnati, “Il diritto del lavoro tra cambiamenti demografici e “questione generazionale”: verso la costruzione di un indice di giustizia intergenerazionale”, in Dinamiche demografiche e mercato del lavoro: la prospettiva giuridica, Adapt university Presso 2025.
S. Sonnati, “Le traiettorie regolative del diritto del lavoro alla prova delle trasformazioni tra rivoluzione digitale e cambiamenti demografici: verso una forma di ‘accomodamento tecnologico’?”, Federalismi.it, 2026.
S. Sonnati, “Age Thresholds and the ‘Older Worker’ in EU and Italian Employment Law: A Legal Taxonomy for the Analysis of Intergenerational Justice”, European Labour Law Journal (Article under second review)
Forthcoming collective publication: M. Del Conte – S. Sonnati – C. Gressani, “Oltre le generazioni: progettare inclusione e equità”, Economia & Management, 2026.