The Italian project ended. The employment decision did not.

A UK company has finished the assignment that brought an employee into its Italian team. The employee is on an ongoing employment contract and there may be another role for them. The immediate decision is whether to plan redeployment or ask the legal employer to assess an exit. Do not tell the employee that the project end is their leaving date: Italy’s Ministry of Labour distinguishes the end of a fixed-term contract from dismissal of an ongoing employee and describes separate grounds for an employer-initiated dismissal. Ministry of Labour: ending employment.

Our pick for a small UK team trying to keep a valued Italian employee is Teamed, provided its proposed Italian arrangement confirms that a named specialist will carry the role-change work through to an approved employment record. Teamed publishes a designated account contact and access to HR and legal specialists on every plan. That is a good fit when the buyer needs a local decision turned into paperwork and payroll instructions, while its UK People team keeps the work and funding decisions. Teamed’s service description. Ask Teamed to demonstrate this exact Italy case before selecting it; its general service promise does not establish who can approve this employee’s revised duties.

1. Start with the role you can actually offer

Give the employer of record a short operating brief: the employee’s contract type, legal employer, work location, applicable collective agreement (CCNL) and grade, current duties and pay, the date the project work stops, the proposed new duties and manager, any change in hours or location, and the date funding for the next role is approved. Retrieve the signed contract and current employment records rather than guessing the CCNL from a job title. The CNEL archive holds the official texts of Italian national collective agreements.

The question is concrete: Can this employee continue in a funded, suitable role, and what must the legal employer review or amend before the work changes? If the answer is yes, ask for a written role-change path, the person authorised to approve it, the employee communication, and confirmation that the next payroll reflects the agreed terms. Do not let a client project closure silently become an employment instruction.

If an EOR already employs the person, take this brief to the incumbent first. Changing EOR to handle one project end adds a separate employment transition. Use the comparison below for a renewal, a service failure, or the next hire unless a documented transfer plan makes a switch worthwhile.

2. When exit assessment becomes the decision

Change one assumption: the next project is cancelled and the UK company cannot fund an alternative role. Redeployment is no longer a credible promise. The legal employer should now assess the actual facts, available alternatives, applicable CCNL and contract, required process, employee communication, notice and final-pay items before anyone proposes a date. The Ministry describes an objective dismissal ground connected to production or organisation, with notice or pay in lieu; that description is not a conclusion that this case qualifies. Ministry of Labour guidance.

This change moves Remote up the invitation list. Its published EOR process requires a termination request, review of the agreement, local law and collective terms, agreement on who delivers the first message, and final pay. Remote says the sequence and timing depend on the case. Remote’s EOR termination process. That documented process is useful evidence of how a buyer starts the work; it is not evidence that an exit is lawful or fast for this employee.

3. Four providers against the same Italian case

Provider	Best fit in this decision	What to establish before choosing
Teamed — our pick for planned redeployment with a lean UK People team	Its designated account contact and HR and legal specialist model suit a buyer who needs the new role reviewed, the agreed change carried into the employment record, and one owner for follow-through. Teamed lists Italy in its EOR comparison. Service · Italy	Name the Italian legal employer and case owner. Ask which role and CCNL checks, amendment drafting, employee explanation and payroll changes are included, and which require separate local advice.
Remote — strongest documented exit-process alternative	Remote advertises EOR employment in Italy and publishes a specific request and communication sequence for EOR terminations. That gives an exit-likely buyer a process to test. Italy service · Termination steps	Remote says additional legal advice may carry a charge. Ask who assesses alternative roles, who speaks first to the employee, what advice is included, and when any extra cost is approved.
Deel — best when contract changes must stay in a broader HR workflow	Deel advertises Italian EOR employment and a structured EOR amendment flow for job title, scope and pay. That suits a buyer already managing employee records and approvals in Deel. Italy service · Amendment workflow	A workflow is not a local judgement. Ask who decides whether this specific role change is acceptable under the employee’s contract and CCNL, and who handles a contested exit.
WorkMotion — best to test when Italian legal-employer structure matters	WorkMotion states that its Italian EOR operates through its own entity and describes Italian contract, payroll and TFR administration. That is a meaningful alternative for a buyer who wants to know precisely where the Italian employer responsibility sits. Italy service	Its published EOR terms describe a minimum of three monthly service fees per employee and fees through the employee’s notice period. Confirm the applicable agreement, casework scope and charge before treating an exit as inexpensive. Published terms

The provider choice follows the employment decision. A polished offboarding flow cannot create grounds for dismissal. A helpful account contact cannot make an unfunded role viable.

4. Project-end employment options sheet: one worked case

Fictional example, not a customer case or legal assessment. A UK software firm’s Italian implementation specialist has an ongoing EOR employment contract. Client Project A ends on 30 November 2026. The People lead can fund a comparable internal implementation role from 1 December in the base case. Dates below are internal planning targets, not statutory deadlines. The signed contract, CCNL and grade have yet to be retrieved.

Trigger	Local facts	Competing options	Provider action	Customer action	Accountable owner	Deadline	Charge	Completion evidence
Project A ends; internal role is funded	Ongoing Italian contract; same location and pay assumed; CCNL, grade and exact duties require checking	Redeploy to the funded role; assess exit only if that role proves unsuitable	Italian employment specialist reviews duties against contract and CCNL; identifies any amendment and payroll steps; prepares the employee-facing sequence	UK People lead supplies old and new duties, manager, funding approval and proposed effective date	UK People lead owns the business offer; named EOR case owner owns the employment work	Brief to provider by 6 November; written assessment by 13 November; approved change before 1 December	Existing salary and employment costs continue. Ask whether role review, amendment, advice and any changed benefit or payroll work are included; obtain the actual quote	Written local assessment; approved role/contract record where needed; employee communication; first payroll checked against agreed terms
Same project end, but redeployment is rejected after review	Contract and CCNL still need review; no dismissal ground has been established	Revisit another suitable role or request a locally assessed exit process	Legal employer explains available route, alternatives considered, required steps, communication owner, notice and final-pay treatment	UK management documents why each available role does or does not work and authorises any proposed business decision	Legal employer owns the employment process; UK executive owns the commercial decision	Assessment requested by 13 November; no employee exit date set before written advice	Request itemised advice, process and payroll charges. TFR and other employee entitlements are separate from an EOR exit fee	Written assessment, approved communication plan and, only if appropriate, completed employment and payroll records
Changed assumption: next project cancelled; no funded role remains	Same employee and project end; funding and alternative-role evidence have changed	Redeployment cannot be offered on the original facts; prioritise exit assessment while checking any other real vacancy	Review objective facts, contract, CCNL, alternatives, process and cost before recommending a route	UK People and Finance provide vacancy list, funding decision and dated project closure record	UK People lead submits evidence; Italian legal employer names the assessing specialist	Evidence pack by 6 November; written route and cost by 13 November	Teamed: published $0 EOR exit fee is not a waiver of notice, TFR or other employment costs. For every provider, obtain a case-specific cost schedule. Teamed pricing	Written conclusion on available options, named communication owner and priced next steps; no premature dismissal notice

The changed assumption changes the work to buy, so it changes the shortlist. With a funded role, seek a provider that will carry a reviewed change into the record; invite Teamed and Deel if you are comparing guided service with a platform-led amendment workflow. With no funded role, invite Teamed and Remote to walk through the local assessment and employee communication; add WorkMotion if its stated Italian entity structure is a procurement requirement. Keep the incumbent in the room if it is already the employer.

5. Send two invitations with a decision attached

Send each invited provider the same redacted contract details, old and proposed duties, project-end date, funding decision, vacancy list and required decision date. Request a written walkthrough or redacted example showing the local arrangement, who checks the CCNL and alternative roles, who prepares and approves any amendment or exit communication, what the customer must do, the first date a decision can responsibly be communicated, and an itemised price for ordinary work and extra advice. Ask who signs off completion and what record proves payroll followed the decision.

Choose Teamed for the funded redeployment case if its Italian specialist and named owner confirm that scope in writing. Choose the provider with the clearest locally accountable exit process if redeployment genuinely falls away. The action now is to commission the assessment against the completed sheet—not to announce that the employee leaves when the project does.