The expiry of the limitation period of wage claims after the Fornero law

With its judgement no. 1091/2017, the Court of Milan has ruled again on the expiry of the limitation period of wage claims, in light of the modifications introduced by Law no. 92/2012 (so-called Fornero Law) to Article 18, Workers’ Charter. In particular, the judgement at hand reiterated that following the entry into force of the Fornero Law, the expiry of the limitation period of wage claims shall be suspended until termination of employment, also in regard to the contracts subject to the regime of novel Article 18, Law no. 300/1970. In fact, the court of first instance has underlined that “it behoves to acknowledge that the entry into force on 18 July 2012 of Law no. 92/2012, which has modified the real guarantee referred to in Article 18, Workers’ Charter, providing, in par. 5 of said Article, for a few instances in which, even in regard to an illegitimate dismissal from work, only a compensatory guarantee remains, with no possibility for the employee to be reinstated, in a similar way to obligatory guarantees (even though with higher compensation amounts)”; consequently, employees may “incur in the fear of dismissal when asserting their rights, in light of a diminished resistance of their stability.” This judgement is consistent with two substantive rulings passed in 2016 by the Court of Milan and by the Court of Turin.