With its recent judgment No. 17643 of 20 June 2023, the Italian Court of Cassation affirmed the principle that the limitation period for a worker’s right to receive compensation in lieu of untaken holiday leave and weekly rest starts from the termination of the employment relationship, except where the employer proves that the worker was put in a position to enjoy the accrued holiday leave.
In particular, the employer must provide proof that it has invited the worker to take the holiday leave at a time that ensures that the leave still provides the person concerned with the rest and relaxation for which it is intended. In addition, the employer must have warned the worker that, if the holiday leave is not taken, it will be lost at the end of the reference period.
In the case examined by the Italian Court of Cassation, a worker, following the termination of the employment relationship due to resignation, brought an action before the Court of Milan requesting, among other claims, an order that the employer pay her compensation in lieu of untaken holiday leave.
The Court partially accepted the worker’s request, while the Court of Appeal of Milan upheld the worker’s cross-appeal, recognising the right to receive compensation in lieu of holiday leave for a total of 248 days (instead of 124 days as ordered by the Court at first instance).
The employer appealed to the Italian Court of Cassation against the judgment of the Court of Appeal of Milan, submitting, among other things, that the worker’s rights were time-barred, given the ten-year limitation period for compensation in lieu of holiday leave that must start to run during the employment relationship.
In this regard, the Italian Court of Cassation, confirming the rulings of the first instance judges, stated that the limitation period of the worker’s right to compensation in lieu of untaken holiday leave and weekly rest ‘starts from the termination of the employment relationship, unless the employer proves that the right to holiday leave and weekly rest was lost by that worker because he or she did not enjoy it despite the invitation to use it; the invitation must be clear and given in good time to ensure that the holiday leave and rest periods provide the person concerned with the rest and relaxation for which they are intended, and must contain a notice that, in the event of non-enjoyment, such leave and rest will be lost at the end of the reference period or an authorised carry-over period’.
In conclusion, therefore, it is better not to postpone holiday leave when it is the employer who invites the worker to use it to avoid the risk of definitively losing the right, including that relating to the monetisation provided for at the end of the employment relationship.
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