July at home, August in Italy: planning holiday coverage across both calendars

Every Nordic manager knows the summer pattern. Somewhere around Midsummer, the office starts emptying, and for weeks little moves. Italy has the same phenomenon, but it peaks later. Many Italian companies, suppliers and customers slow right down in August, around Ferragosto on 15 August.

For a Nordic company with people in Italy, this offset is an opportunity, if you plan it. Unplanned, it becomes two summers of poor coverage.

The Italian calendar  

Italy has twelve national public holidays plus a local patron saint’s day, which differs by city: Milan, Rome, Turin, Bologna and Naples each have their own. Public holidays are paid and do not count against holiday.

Annual holiday is at least four weeks by law, part of it to be taken in the year it accrues. Most CCNLs add paid hours off. In many sectors employees take a long block in August, and some factories close for part of the month.

Where the calendars collide  

• Nordic July. Your Italian team is working, but their Nordic colleagues, approvers and support functions are on holiday.
• Italian August. Your Nordic team is back, but Italian customers, suppliers and colleagues are away.
• Public holidays. Neither side’s holidays exist in the other’s calendar: Midsummer and National Day at home; Liberation Day, Republic Day and the patron saint’s day in Italy.

Turning the offset into coverage  

Plan both summers at once. Agree holiday plans in spring for both teams. A simple rule works: someone with authority is always reachable for the Italian team in July, and someone covers Italian accounts in August.

Use the Italian team in July. Support, customer success, QA and operations roles in Italy can keep services running while the Nordic office is quiet, and the reverse in August.

Align Italian holiday with Italian customers. A seller or field engineer serving Italian accounts should usually take their main holiday in August. Insisting on July because “that is when we close” helps nobody.

Mind approvals and payroll. Payroll inputs, expense approvals and contract signatures still need someone in July. Name a deputy.

A shared calendar  

Keep one calendar that shows:

• Nordic and Italian public holidays;
• the patron saint’s day for each Italian employee’s city;
• planned holiday blocks for both teams;
• release dates, trade fairs and customer events.

It prevents the most common avoidable mistakes: a launch on an Italian holiday, a review meeting in Ferragosto week, or a July invoice approval nobody is there to give.

Records and liability  

Holiday is a right, and the employer has a say on timing within the rules. Track accrued and taken days and hours off for each employee. Unused leave grows as a liability and is paid at exit. In our monthly summary you see the balances, so you can push for leave to be taken before it accumulates.

Bridges  

Italians make use of ponti, bridges: when a public holiday falls on a Tuesday or Thursday, many take the Monday or Friday off with an hour-off or holiday day. Expect lower availability around those dates and plan them in the calendar.

As Employer of Record (EOR), we apply the CCNL entitlements and keep the balances. You plan the work.

Questions we hear from Nordic companies  

Can we require Italian staff to take holiday in July like the Nordic office? The employer has a say on timing within the law and the CCNL, but a rule that ignores the Italian market rarely works. Customer-facing staff are usually more useful in July and better off on holiday in August. Agree it in spring and document it.

Do Italian employees work on Nordic public holidays? Yes. They follow Italian public holidays. A Nordic holiday is a normal working day in Italy, and the reverse. This is often an advantage: someone is always available.

What about company shutdown weeks? If your company closes for a period, include the Italian team in the plan early and check how the CCNL treats collective holiday. We reflect it in payroll and in the leave balances.

For statutory leave in detail, read 25 days at home, four weeks in Italy . For the legal comparison, see Italy vs Sweden .