Lungi da contestare l'inquadramento contrattuale, controlliamo il livello retributivo.

Lungi da is a fixed, fairly formal expression meaning far from, by no means, or sometimes rather than.

So Lungi da contestare... means something like:

• Far from disputing...
• Without challenging...
• By no means intending to contest...

It is not something learners usually build freely word by word; it is best learned as a set phrase.

Because lungi da is an idiomatic expression. Here, lungi is not being used in the ordinary everyday way an adjective would be used. You should think of lungi da + infinitive as a fixed structure.

So:

• lungi da dire
• lungi dal pensare
• lungi dall'essere

are natural formal patterns.

Trying to replace lungi with lungo would not work here.

After lungi da, Italian normally uses the infinitive.

So the pattern is:

• lungi da + infinitive

Examples:

• Lungi da me criticare... = Far be it from me to criticize...
• Lungi dal voler negare... = Far from wanting to deny...

In your sentence:

• lungi da contestare

means far from contesting/challenging.

Here contestare means to dispute, to challenge, or to object to.

It is close to English to contest, especially in formal, legal, administrative, or professional contexts.

So contestare l'inquadramento contrattuale means:

• to challenge the contractual classification
• to dispute the contract-based job classification

This is a technical expression, especially common in employment and HR contexts.

• inquadramento = classification, placement, grading
• contrattuale = contractual, related to the employment contract or collective agreement

So inquadramento contrattuale refers to a worker’s official job classification under the contract, often linked to:

• category
• level
• duties
• rights
• pay scale

It does not mean framing in the everyday visual sense.

Usually, no. This is a very common trap for English speakers.

In Italian, controllare often means:

• to check
• to inspect
• to verify
• to examine

So controlliamo il livello retributivo usually means:

• we check the pay level
• let's check the pay level

not we control the pay level.

It can be either, depending on context.

Grammatically, controlliamo is the 1st person plural present indicative, so it literally means we check / we are checking. But in Italian, that same form is also often used as a hortative:

• Controlliamo... = Let’s check...

In this sentence, many readers would understand it as Let’s check the pay level, especially if it appears in advice, instructions, or discussion.

Because Italian normally leaves subject pronouns out when they are not needed.

The verb ending -iamo already tells you the subject is we.

So:

• controlliamo = we check / let’s check

Adding noi is possible, but it would usually add emphasis or contrast:

• Noi controlliamo il livello retributivo = We are the ones checking the pay level

It means pay level, salary level, or remuneration grade.

• livello = level
• retributivo = relating to pay/remuneration

A useful note: although retributivo looks like English retributive, in Italian employment language it is connected to retribuzione (pay, remuneration), not to punishment.

So here it is about salary/pay, not retribution in the English sense.

Italian uses definite articles more often than English does.

Here:

• l'inquadramento contrattuale
• il livello retributivo

refer to specific concepts being discussed, so the articles sound natural and expected.

English may sometimes drop the article more easily, but Italian often keeps it.

The comma separates the introductory phrase from the main clause.

Structure:

• Lungi da contestare l'inquadramento contrattuale, = introductory comment
• controlliamo il livello retributivo. = main clause

It helps show the logic:

• Far from disputing the contractual classification, let’s check the pay level.

So the comma marks a shift from the background stance to the main action.

Not really. It sounds fairly formal, written, and somewhat technical.

Reasons:

• lungi da is formal/literary-administrative
• inquadramento contrattuale is technical HR/legal vocabulary
• livello retributivo is also professional/administrative language

In more everyday speech, someone might express the same idea in a simpler way.