Company files deleted from the PC: dismissal lawful even without proof of damage

The matter arises from the disciplinary dismissal of an employee performing general secretarial duties who, upon returning the company computer following a change in her duties, handed back the device without a significant amount of documentation of interest to the employer. The missing files included the electronic register, correspondence and emails, minutes and resolutions of the association’s bodies, congress materials and further documentation relating to the institutional activities of the entity. The employee challenged the measure, arguing, among other things, that such documents were available in any event on the company server or in paper archives and that, therefore, the deletion of the files had not caused any actual prejudice to the organization.

By judgment no. 713 of 3 June 2026, the Court of Appeal of Palermo nevertheless confirmed the lawfulness of the dismissal, focusing primarily on the burden of proof borne by the employee. According to the judges, it was not for the employer to prove the absence of alternative copies of the documents, but rather for the employee to prove that the files had actually been stored also on other media accessible to the organization. Such proof was not provided: the existence of a company server was not sufficient to demonstrate that the documentation had actually been saved on it, nor was it proven that the missing electronic archive fully overlapped with the paper archive.

Of particular interest is the part of the judgment dealing with the legal qualification of the conduct. The Court ruled out that the facts could be reduced to mere damage to company assets, holding instead that they amounted to the actual removal of company documents. The judges emphasized that the removed documentation concerned the life and functioning of the entity and included information relating to internal decision-making processes, correspondence and other data deserving protection. From this perspective, the employee’s conduct was regarded as a breach of the duty of loyalty, an element that carries particular weight where, because of the duties performed, the employee holds a position of special trust within the organization.

The Court also clarified that the existence of actual economic damage is not a necessary prerequisite for the lawfulness of the dismissal. According to the judges, the mere deletion or removal of company documents may in itself be capable of irreparably undermining the relationship of trust, regardless of proof of any actual financial prejudice. The negative value of the conduct is therefore identified in the breach of the duties of fairness, good faith and loyalty that characterize the employment relationship, rather than in the economic consequences actually produced.

Finally, the judgment offers some particularly timely insights into the management of corporate information assets. In a context in which organizational activities are increasingly based on digital archives and shared document management systems, the Court reiterates that employees are required to preserve and return in full the company documentation in their possession and that its deliberate deletion may amount to conduct seriously undermining the bond of trust. The judgment therefore confirms a strict approach to the protection of corporate information assets, emphasizing the strategic role of digital documentation and the employee’s responsibility for its proper management.