Italy to Pay School Staff's Back Pay in September 2026

School staff across Italy are set to receive back pay from their national labour contract starting in September 2026, following a request submitted by the association representing school principals.

The back pay stems from the CCNL, the national collective agreement that governs pay scales and working conditions for public school employees.

According to the announcement, the amount owed will already be visible on pay slips for teachers and for ATA staff, the technical and administrative personnel employed in schools on a permanent basis, known in Italian as di ruolo.

Crucially, the back pay will also extend to school principals, or dirigenti scolastici, a group that had previously raised concerns about being excluded from similar payments.

ANP, the association that represents Italian school principals, had specifically requested that its members be included in this round of back pay.

The request was accepted, meaning principals will now be treated in the same way as teaching and administrative staff regarding this payment.

To ensure the money reaches recipients promptly, a special emission has been scheduled for mid-September 2026.

This term refers to an accelerated payment process that bypasses the usual monthly cycle, allowing the funds to be disbursed more quickly than standard salary payments.

The move comes after prolonged negotiations over the CCNL, which sets pay levels and contractual terms for hundreds of thousands of school employees nationwide.

Back pay disputes are common in Italian public administration, often arising when new contracts are finalised well after the period they are meant to cover.

In this case, the resolution appears to bring clarity for both instructional and leadership staff within the school system.

For school principals, the acceptance of ANP's request marks a significant development, as it ensures parity with other categories of school employees who were already expecting payment.

The announcement is likely to be welcomed by unions and professional associations representing education staff, who have monitored the implementation of the CCNL closely.

While the exact sums involved were not specified in the announcement, the visibility of the amounts on pay slips suggests that affected staff will soon have concrete figures.

The September 2026 payment date gives schools and payroll administrators time to prepare for the special emission process.