In its Order No. 16358 of June 17, 2025, the Italian Supreme Court addressed the topic of dismissal for just cause, clarifying the distribution of the burden of proof and the appropriate approach that courts must adopt when the dismissal is based on multiple charges.
The case involved a disciplinary dismissal imposed by a symphony foundation (the “Foundation”) on a lyric singer during her sick leave. The employee was subject to two charges: first, leaving her residence during hours of medical availability, and second, engaging in various activities (such as dining out with her partner, shopping, and singing at religious events) despite her certified illness.
The Naples Tribunal rejected the employee’s appeal at both summary and full opposition stages (under the “Fornero Procedure”), upholding the legitimacy of the dismissal. The Naples Court of Appeal reversed the decision, ruling the dismissal unlawful and ordering the employee’s reinstatement along with eight months’ wage compensation.
The appellate court focused primarily on one of the charges, considering the singing activity during sick leave to be minor, occasional, and not amounting to professional work. Based on that, the court held that the alleged misconduct was unfounded.
The Foundation filed an appeal with the Supreme Court, arguing that the appellate court failed to assess the second, independent charge.
The Supreme Court upheld the Foundation’s claim on this point, overturning the ruling and remanding the case to a different panel of the Naples Court of Appeal for a new judgment.
The Court criticized the lower court for basing its decision solely on one charge. It reiterated the principle that, in cases of dismissal for just cause based on multiple allegations, each allegation may independently justify the sanction unless it is proven that only the cumulative effect of all the charges would warrant termination.
According to this principle, the employer need not prove that the dismissal depends on the totality of conduct, whereas the burden shifts to the employee to show that none of the charges, taken individually, would be serious enough to justify termination. The appellate court failed to consider this and omitted evaluation of one of the charges, thereby violating this principle.
Other related insights:
By Order No. 15987 of 2025, the Italian Supreme Court – Labour Section – reaffirmed the strict application of Article 1335 of the Civil Code, establishing that the presumption of knowledge of “legal notices” (i.e. “atti recettizi”) cannot be rebutted by subjective obstacles, even when the recipient is in a vulnerable physical or mental condition and the notification is intentionally concealed by a cohabiting family member.
The case concerned the dismissal of an employee due to permanent and absolute unsuitability, communicated via letter sent to the employee’s registered residential address. Specifically, the dismissal letter was duly delivered but collected by the employee’s mother, who deliberately withheld the information with the stated intention of protecting her son from potential psychological harm. As a result, the employee contested the dismissal after the statutory deadline had expired.
Both the Court of first instance and the Bologna Court of Appeal declared the employee’s appeal inadmissible due to the expiration of the challenge period, holding that the presumption of knowledge was perfected by the proper delivery of the notice to the recipient’s address.
The Supreme Court subsequently upheld the ruling of the Court of Appeal of Bologna. The core of the decision lies in the strict interpretation of Article 1335 of the Italian Civil Code, according to which a legal notice is presumed known from the moment it is received at the recipient’s address, unless the recipient proves that they were in an objective and blameless condition preventing them from becoming aware of it. Subjective impediments or acts of third-party cohabitants do not bear relevance in this context.
In this specific case, the Italian Supreme Court rejected the argument that the employee’s health condition or the mother’s decision to conceal the letter could constitute an objective impediment. These circumstances pertain to the recipient’s personal and family sphere and are insufficient to overcome the legal presumption of knowledge. Only external factors, beyond the recipient’s control – such as natural disasters, postal errors, or prolonged absence due to force majeure – may constitute valid grounds to rebut the presumption.
In conclusion, this ruling highlights the peremptory nature of the deadlines for contesting dismissals, even in situations where subjective elements prevent the employee from being made aware of the disciplinary measure imposed against them.
Other related insights:
The negative implications of criminally unlawful acts on the proper execution of work performance, in compliance with the employee’s obligations, constitute just cause for dismissal.
The Supreme Court, in ruling no. 31866 of December 11, 2024, established that unlawful conduct outside the workplace may have disciplinary relevance, as the employee is not only required to perform the assigned tasks but also, as an ancillary obligation, to refrain from engaging in behaviors outside the workplace that could harm the employer’s moral and material interests or compromise the relationship of trust. If such conduct is of a particularly serious nature, it may also justify dismissal for just cause.
As is well known, Article 2119 of the Civil Code defines just cause for termination as “a cause that does not allow the continuation, even temporarily, of the employment relationship.” This means an event, attributable to one of the parties, of such severity that any alternative to immediate termination would be inadequate to protect the interests of the terminating party.
The concept of just cause is rooted in the broad scope of its definition and is classified among the so-called “general clauses” (Supreme Court ruling no. 10964 of May 8, 2018). It is an open-ended concept that requires interpretation through the assessment of factual elements (including the evolution of social awareness and the perception of the severity of certain events) and legal considerations.
As stated by the Supreme Court, “just cause for dismissal is a concept that the law, in order to adapt regulations to a complex and ever-changing reality, defines through a provision (classified among the so-called general clauses) with limited content, outlining a generic model that requires specification through interpretation by considering both external factors related to general awareness and the principles implicitly referenced by the provision itself” (Supreme Court, September 30, 2022, No. 28515).
Moreover, it has been recently reaffirmed that the consideration of external factors related to general awareness is an integral part of the interpretative process (Supreme Court, August 22, 2024, No. 23029).
In outlining the types of employee behavior that may constitute just cause for dismissal, case law has established that the breach of trust may result either from a violation of contractual obligations or from off-duty conduct.
An employee is required not only to fulfill contractual obligations but also to adhere to ancillary behavioral duties, which, even outside the workplace, mandate the protection of the employer’s moral and financial interests. Violating these obligations undermines the trust necessary for the proper continuation of the employment relationship.
For example, in several cases, the courts have deemed violations of the so-called “minimum ethical standard” as just cause for dismissal. This refers to conduct that any reasonable person—including the employee—should recognize as contrary to the fundamental principles of civil coexistence, fairness, and good faith.
One significant case involved the dismissal for just cause of a school bus driver following a final criminal conviction for engaging in acts unequivocally aimed at causing the termination of his partner’s pregnancy. The Supreme Court of Cassation upheld the legitimacy of the dismissal, citing the objective severity of the offense and its social disvalue, which directly impacted the employer’s public image (Supreme Court, April 3, 2024, No. 8728).
Similarly, the off-duty possession of a significant quantity of narcotics for trafficking purposes was considered to seriously affect the employment relationship, particularly in terms of the employee’s future reliability. The Supreme Court ruled that an employee is required not only to perform their assigned tasks but also to refrain from behaviors—outside the workplace—that could compromise the trust-based relationship with the employer, which is subject to the assessment of the trial judge (Supreme Court, August 6, 2015, No. 16524).
In that case, the Supreme Court upheld the lower court’s decision, which had deemed the employee’s conduct particularly severe in terms of future reliability. The employee, a “chef de rang” at a thermal resort, was responsible for room service, a role involving frequent contact with guests. The court found the conduct even more serious given that the drugs were purchased from a colleague.
Continue reading the full version published on Modulo 24 Contenzioso Lavoro.
On 16 September was published in the Official Gazette the Decree-Law no. 131/2024 (i.e. “Decreto Salva Infrazioni”) – in force since 17 September – which also intervened on the regulation of fixed-term contracts through which the European Union requested Italy to align Italian legislation with EU Directive 1999/70/EC on fixed-term work.
The “Salva Infrazioni” decree amended Article 28, paragraphs 2 and 3 of Legislative Decree No. 81/2015 (i.e. “Jobs Act”), introducing significant changes regarding the compensation indemnity for damages in case of fixed-term contracts declared unlawful.
Pre-existing regulation:
The maximum limit of the indemnity is reduced to 6 months’ salary in the case of collective agreements that provide for procedures to stabilize fixed-term workers.
Amendments introduced by Decree-Law No. 131/2024:
The Italian Data Protection Authority (‘IDPA’), with a Ruling of 7 March 2024 [announced in the Newsletter of 3 May 2024] upheld a complaint filed by a worker who had asked her former employer company for access to her personal file to find out what information could have given rise to a disciplinary sanction against her.
The company had not given an adequate response to the request and had only provided an incomplete list of the documentation collected, omitting information which formed the basis of the disciplinary sanction which was then imposed. The omitted information was only provided to the worker after the start of the IDPA’s investigation.
In its note of reply, the company claimed that it had not provided the worker with the above-mentioned documentation in order to protect its right of defence in court as well as the confidentiality of the third parties involved. The company also alleged that the complainant lacked standing to access the information, since it had been requested at a time when the disciplinary proceedings could no longer be challenged.
The IDPA reiterated that the right of access recognised by Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (‘GDPR’) is intended to allow the data subject to exercise control over his or her personal data and to verify its accuracy. Consequently, this right cannot be denied or limited depending on the purpose of the request. In fact, according to the provisions of the GDPR, data subjects are not asked to indicate a reason or a particular need to justify their requests to exercise their rights, nor can the data controller verify the reasons for the request.
Therefore, access to personal data cannot be denied because the data requested could be used by the data subject to defend himself or herself in court in the event of dismissal.
“The jurisprudence has on several occasions reiterated that the right of access derives, in addition to the legislation on personal protection data, from the ‘respect for the principles of good faith and fairness incumbent on the parties to the employment relationship under Articles 1175 and 1375 of the Italian Civil Code. This is confirmed by the fact that, for some time, the relevant sector’s collective bargaining agreement has provided that the employer must keep, in a special personal file, all the deeds and documents produced by the entity or by the employee himself or herself, which relate to his or her professional development, the activity performed and the most significant facts concerning him or and that the employee has the right to freely view the deeds and documents included in his or her personal file’ (Italian Court of Cassation, 7 April 2016, no. 6775)”.
Based on the points set out above, the IDPA imposed a fine of EUR 20,000.00 on the company.
◊◊◊◊
Summary of the right of access:
Other related insights: