This paper explores the reform of fixed-term contracts and temporary agency work following the enactment of Article 24 of Decree-Law No. 48/2023, later converted into Law No. 85/2023. It provides an opportunity to revisit Riccardo Del Punta’s work on the evolution of these employment schemes in light of Council Directive No. 1999/70/EC, which transposed the framework agreement of 18 March 1999 between the European cross-industry organisations (ETUC, UNICE, and CEEP) representing employers and workers. The discussion begins with Professor Del Punta’s paper "The Elusive Temporariness: Consolidated Notes on Fixed-term Work and Temporary Agency Work," published in Industrial Relations Law, Vol. 4/XII, 2000. The author of this paper is particularly fond of Riccardo’s article, as it was expressly dedicated to Professor Marco Biagi, the cultural mastermind of Legislative Decree No. 368 of 6 September 2001, which integrated Council Directive No. 1999/70/EC into our legal system (Biagi, 2002a); Riccardo’s paper were precisely directed to this legislation.