COLLABORATION IN SELF-EMPLOYED PROFESSIONAL WORK WITHIN THE CLIENT'S ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE

CARLO PISANI

Full Professor of Labour Law, University of Rome Tor Vergata

in

Lavoro e previdenza oggi n. 5-6/2026

SUMMARY. 1. The relevance of the issue. – 2. The misconception generated by the concept of “attenuated subordination”. – 3. The systemic significance of the exclusion of regulated professions from the application of Article 2(2) of Legislative Decree No. 81/2015. – 4. The role of coordination also in relationships of so-called attenuated subordination and a comparison with the agency contract. The Constitutional Court’s Judgment No. 167/2022. – 5. Pure self employed work and the transition to the “collaboration” of self-employed work integrated into the client’s organizational structure.

ABSTRACT. The paper critically examines the concept of “collaboration” concerning professionals integrated within a principal’s organizational structure. The Author critiques the prevailing jurisprudential misinterpretation of “attenuated subordination” (socalled soft subordination) and, drawing upon constitutional case law and Article 2, Paragraph 2 of Legislative Decree no. 81/2015, delineates the boundary between the exercise of employer directive powers and mere functional coordination. The core argument seeks to demonstrate that continuous organizational integration does not intrinsically engender a subordinate employment relationship. Conversely, it serves as the essential criterion differentiating coordinated collaboration from self-employment (art. 2222 of the Civil Code). Ultimately, the Author posits that collaboration – understood as a paradigm of “variable geometry” – highlights the doctrinal pursuit of diverse frameworks governing the integration of the worker into a third-party organization, extending even to the realm of self-employment.

COLLABORATION IN SELF-EMPLOYED PROFESSIONAL WORK WITHIN THE CLIENT’S ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE