I went back to work in July after 4 months of parental leave. Before the break I was working in the office, but now my company (a software house in Milan) says I have to come back in person 5 days a week. I asked for remote work at least 2-3 days, but they said no. Do I have the right to negotiate this or can the company really refuse?
Technically the company can refuse, but you have the right to ask and negotiate - especially if you were already working remotely before your leave. The law doesn't guarantee you remote work, but the work-life balance issue after parental leave is increasingly something companies consider, especially in tech environments like yours. Try making your case with concrete arguments (productivity, personal needs) rather than generic ones, maybe put it in writing so there's a record. If they keep saying a flat no, at least you tried - but unfortunately that no isn't illegal.
The issue is a bit more nuanced than it seems. It's not that the company can just ignore your request: you have the right to ask for remote work arrangements, especially if you were doing it before your leave. What happens is that they're not legally obliged to grant it, but your request is legitimate and they should at least seriously consider it. If they refuse outright without discussion, you can ask them in writing what the concrete reasons are - and here's the thing that others might not stress enough: document everything via email.
What a lot of people don't say is that the refusal could be pretextual if there's an idea behind it to "punish" you for taking parental leave. If after you return you're suddenly forced to work in-office when there wasn't that requirement before, especially without solid technical reasons, it could amount to discrimination based on parenthood, and then the situation changes radically. It's not like you automatically win the case, but it's an element that protects your position.
In the meantime, you can make a pragmatic countermove: propose an intermediate solution with concrete data. Maybe "I'll try 2 days remote for a month and we'll see how it goes with projects" is harder to refuse than a vague request. If they stay closed off and don't give serious reasons, then it's worth getting advice from someone who knows labor contracts (a labor law firm, union if you're a member). It's not a war, but it's important not to let them push you around.
If the company tells you no without even discussing it, the first step is to put your request in writing (email) - that way you have a record. Then you can contact your sector's union or get advice from a law firm specializing in employment law, because after parental leave companies can't just ignore work-life balance needs, even if the law doesn't guarantee automatic remote work.
First of all, were you working remotely before the parental leave or were you already in the office? Because the answer changes quite a bit. If you were already working in-person before the break, the company has more leeway to "restore" things to how they were, but still - they can't just ignore a legitimate smart working request. It really depends on how you present it to them.
The thing that others don't stress enough: you don't just have to accept a simple "no". You have the right to formally request (in writing, via email) an evaluation of your request with reasoning - explain why you need it (family management, productivity, whatever it is), not just "I want to work from home". If they keep refusing without negotiating, then yeah, reaching out to the union or a labor consultant who knows your collective bargaining agreement well is the right move. A lot of software companies in Milan are thinking through hybrid models right now anyway, so maybe it's not even as rigid a position as it seems on paper.
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