Categories: Insights

21 Feb 2013

Court of Cassation: dismissal not justified if the employee is forced to the inactivity (Il Sole 24 Ore, February 18, 2013, page 31)

Court of Cassation, with sentence no. 1693 of January 24, stated that the subordinate employee’s refusal of carrying out his work performance (e.g. in the case he/she is assigned to lower duties) can be lawful and, therefore, make unlawful the dismissal based on the principle of “self-protection” in the equivalent performances contract, if the refusal is balanced to the unlawful behavior of the employer and in compliance with the principle of good faith. Nonetheless, the Supreme Court specifies that, in order to deem justified the refusal of fulfillment, the trial judge shall make a balanced assessment of the non-fulfillments, also considering their proportionality with reference to socio-economic function of the contract and the effect on the parties positions and on their interests. In essence, the refusal of fulfillment will not be in accordance to the good faith principle if the non-fulfillment is serious or is not significant with reference to the interest of the other contractual party.
Subscribe to our newsletter

Contact

Need information? Write to us and our team of experts will respond as soon as possible.

Fill in the form

More news and insights

3 Aug 2026

Pay Transparency: the first requests from employees are starting to arrive (Il Sole 24 Ore, 3 august 2026 – Vittorio De Luca)

Two months after the decree. Since Legislative Decree 96/2026 came into force on 7 June, according to a flash survey conducted by GIDP, 8% of HR directors have…

Read more
30 Jul 2026

Corporate controls and data protection: what balance?

A recent judgment of the Court of Pisa, No. 800 of 13 June 2026, addresses a topic of particular interest for companies: the delicate balance between the protection…

Read more
30 Jul 2026

Unfair dismissal and reinstatement: the employee must repay the payment in lieu of notice

With order no. 22187 of 28 June 2026, the Italian Supreme Court addressed the issue of whether payment in lieu of notice paid to an employee must be…

Read more
30 Jul 2026

Did you know that… an employee’s natural incapacity does not prevent the time limit for challenging a dismissal from running?

In judgment no. 23486 of 18 July 2026, the Joint Chambers of the Italian Supreme Court (i.e. “Corte di Cassazione”) held that the natural incapacity of an employee…

Read more
22 Jul 2026

An employee may not steer clients toward a competitor before resigning (Camera di Commercio Francese in Italia, 22 July 2026 – Vittorio De Luca, Silvia Zulato)

With Order No. 1723 of 26 May 2026, the Italian Supreme Court (Corte di Cassazione) confirmed the liability of an employee who, prior to the termination of his…

Read more
20 Jul 2026

Access to Naspi (Top24 Lavoro Ai – Il Sole 24 Ore, 20 July 2026 – Vittorio De Luca e Alessandra Zilla)

Regulatory Framework  The New Social Insurance for Employment (NASpI), introduced by Legislative Decree No. 22 of 4 March 2015, is the primary income support scheme for employees who…

Read more