CASSATION: EMPLOYEE CONDUCT WHO PLAYS A JOKE TO THE DETRIMENT OF A COLLEAGUE CAN BE PUNISHED (IL SOLE 24 ORE, 14 FEBRUARY 2015, PAGE 15)

With its ruling no. 2904 of 13 February 2015, the Court of Cassation established that it is legitimate to dismiss an assembly line worker who continuously fills car seats with paper and trash in order to play a joke on a colleague. Specifically, the Court pointed out that the behaviour in question could not be considered as a joke, since it had continued for a long period of time, and should be considered as intentional damage to the company and work material. In this case, the ruling states, it is not only unlawful acts which result in permanent damage to the work material, but also behaviour which causes or can cause consequential loss.