Collective company agreement with no expiry date. Legitimate unilateral withdrawal if proven (Il Quotidiano del lavoro de Il Sole 24 Ore, 28 January 2021 – Enrico De Luca, Antonella Iacobellis)

The Court of Lamezia Terme, with the sentence of 14.01.2021, ruled that it is possible to unilaterally withdraw from a second level collective agreement with no expire date, but the party that objects to this circumstance is burdened by providing the relevant proof.

More specifically, the sentence states that, if the second level collective agreement does not have a predetermined term of effectiveness, it cannot bind the contractors forever, being able to terminate it through the unilateral withdrawal of one of the parties, who responds to the need to avoid the perpetuity of the obligatory bond.

Therefore, the withdrawal can also take place verbally or by conclusive facts, but in this case the party that objects to it is charged, pursuant to art. 2697, paragraph 2, of the Italian Civil Code, of the relative proof.

Click here to read the full version in Italian published by Il Quotidiano del Lavoro – Il Sole 24 Ore.