Al crocevia fra orario di lavoro, tutela della salute e malattie professionali: il caso dei lavoratori “senza tempo”

Abstract

The essay investigates the role that working time plays in the development of occupational diseases and seeks to offer a contribution to the interpretation of Article 17, paragraph 5 of Legislative Decree No. 66/2003 from a social-security standpoint. In reconstructing this role, the analysis highlights the significance of occupational health and safety regulations and, above all, of the system of health surveillance embedded therein. Such surveillance ought to treat working time as a specific risk factor and to implement more effective preventive measures with regard to the intensification of work, which is, in itself, inherently hazardous. The assessment focuses in particular on so-called “timeless workers”, outlining that the quantification of working hours is of considerable importance for the regulatory framework governing occupational diseases, and offering at the end a specific insight into smart working.