Italy: Unfair/ Wrongful Dismissal

The Italian Supreme Court has ruled on the evidentiary value of medical examiner reports in disciplinary dismissal cases involving employee unavailability during medical check visits.

The Court of Cassation's Joint Sections has issued a landmark ruling clarifying the procedural rights of employees who are dismissed while lacking mental capacity to understand or respond to their termination. This decision addresses a critical gap in Italian employment law by establishing new time limits for challenging dismissals when workers are unable to comprehend the legal consequences of their termination. The ruling balances employee protection against employer certainty in dismissal proceedings.

La Corte di Cassazione a Sezioni Unite ha chiarito i limiti della tutela del lavoratore licenziato in stato di incapacità naturale, stabilendo che non è richiesta la previa impugnazione extragiudiziale...

Italy has introduced additional notification and consultation obligations on employers of 250+ staff when planning plant, branch or office closures.

The Supreme Court of Cassation, in its Order no. 21172/2021, established that a director's waiver of remuneration may be expressed by their conclusive conduct that unequivocally reveals their intention...

The Court of Venezia, in its ruling no. 494/2021, stated that a company that suffered a cyber-attack and was forced to pay a ransom to recover stolen data can fire an employee...

According to the Italian Supreme Court the letter of dismissal/firing delivered to an employee by the employer has to include with a high level of accuracy facts that are considered a severe violation of disciplinary duties.

The financial crisis is having a significant impact in the field of employment, with an increase in dismissals for an objectively justified reason (giustificato motivo oggettivo) as employers seek to reduce their business costs.

Under Italian law an employment relationship is permanent except in cases, specified by law, in which the employer and the employee agree to a temporary employment relationship, in which case the parties must specify the duration of the contract in writing; thus, the relationship is automatically terminated on an agreed date.