Lawful dismissal for an employee who misappropriates company products (Camera di Commercio Italo-Francese – Vittorio De Luca, Silvia Zulato)

With judgment no. 4087 of 4 November 2025, the Italian Supreme Court of Cassation – Labour Section – confirmed the legitimacy of a dismissal for just cause imposed on an employee who had misappropriated company products, focusing in particular on the principle of promptness in disciplinary charges.

In the case examined, an employee working at a pharmacy had been dismissed for having taken, between December 2014 and February 2015, products intended for sale, resulting in a shortage of significant economic value. The employer proceeded to issue the disciplinary charge in March 2015, once the internal administrative and accounting checks necessary to reconstruct the extent and systematic nature of the conduct had been completed.

The employee challenged the dismissal, alleging a breach of the principle of promptness in the disciplinary charge. Both the Court of First Instance and the Court of Appeal, however, found the dismissal to be lawful, emphasizing the seriousness of the established conduct and its suitability to irreversibly undermine the relationship of trust. The courts of merits also ruled out any lateness in the disciplinary charge, considering the time elapsed to be justified by the complexity of the investigations carried out and by the seriousness of the conduct established.

The Supreme Court of Cassation dismissed the employee’s appeal, reiterating that the principle of promptness in disciplinary charges is not absolute, but must be assessed in light of the circumstances of the specific case. In particular, the time required by the employer to acquire full and reliable knowledge of the facts may justify a postponement of the charge, without this, in itself, rendering the dismissal unlawful.

In conclusion, the ruling confirms that the misappropriation of company products constitutes a serious breach of the duties of fairness and loyalty and may justify dismissal for just cause, even where the disciplinary charge is brought some time after the conduct, provided that the delay is justified by the manner in which the facts were ascertained.