The burden of proving the achievement of the objectives to receive payment of the related bonus rests on the employee

In Judgment no. 1712/2017, the Milan Court of Appeal has dealt with the issue of the omission by the employer of the annual objectives linked to the payment of a bonus. In this case, in the Court’s opinion, the employee claiming payment of the bonus is encumbered with the burden of “… producing and proving his achievement of the objectives that, according to the principles of fairness and good faith in performing a contract, should have been reasonably assigned with a view of continuity with previously set objectives and in relation to the company potential and contingent market conditions”. This is so because the omission in question constitutes contract breach, since the employer is obliged to assign the annual objectives, and does not fall within the scope of application of Article 1359, Italian Civil Code (relied on in the case at hand by the worker) according to which “the condition (editor’s note: achievement of the objectives linked to payment of the bonus) should be considered fulfilled if this was missing for reasons attributable to the party that had no interest in the fulfilment thereof.” This provision – according to the Court – shall apply only in case of a future and uncertain event, on the occurrence of which the effectiveness of an agreement depends. This is so when an employer that has assigned the objectives has engaged in a conduct that prevents workers from achieving them; nevertheless, also in this case, the worker should prove not only the interest of the employer against fulfilment of the condition but also that the objective would have been achieved had the employer not thwarted it.