Littler Global Guide - Italy - Q2 2019

Browse through brief employment and labor law updates from around the globe. Contact a Littler attorney for more information or view our global locations.

View all Q2 2019 Global Guide Quarterly updates   Download full Q2 2019 Global Guide Quarterly

The Relationship Between Sickness and Paid Holiday Leave to Suspend the Period of Retention of Employment Due to Illness

Precedential Decision by Judiciary or Regulatory Agency

Author: Carlo Majer, Partner - Littler Italy

On April 17, 2019, the Supreme Court ruled a dismissal due to the employee exceeding the period of retention of employment in case of illness, was unlawful. The employee challenged the dismissal because she had requested to convert the period of illness into paid holiday leave. She also complained that her employer engaged in abusive conduct. The Supreme Court noted that the employee had the right to use the accrued holidays paid leave to suspend the accumulation of the period of employment retention, finding no absolute incompatibility between illness and holidays leave.

Failure to Supervise Justifies Dismissal

Precedential Decision by Judiciary or Regulatory Agency

Author: Carlo Majer, Partner - Littler Italy

On June 4, 2019, the Supreme Court held that the dismissal of a manager who failed to supervise a subordinate who, in turn, defrauded the employer was for just cause. Here, the manager, who was head of a bank branch, failed to ensure the proper custody of the ATM cards and their secret codes, also failing to activate the appropriate checks against the abnormal quantity of ATM cards, among other failures. Such omissions allowed one of his subordinates to engage in fraudulent acts against the employer bank. The Supreme Court found that the manager’s omissions fully legitimatized his dismissal for just cause.

Dismissal of Pregnant Employee Was Lawful Because Pregnancy Occurred during the Period of Notice

Precedential Decision by Judiciary or Regulatory Agency

Author: Carlo Majer, Partner - Littler Italy

An employee who had become pregnant during the period of notice challenged her dismissal. On April 3, 2019, the Supreme Court affirmed the lawfulness of the dismissal, noting that the employee was not objectively pregnant before the start of the period of notice. Therefore, the dismissal was valid and lawful.

Plans to Increase Inspections in 2019

Important Action by Regulatory Agency

Author: Carlo Majer, Partner - Littler Italy

On April 10, 2019, the National Office of Labor Inspections (INL) published the planning document for surveillance activity for 2019. In addition to illegal work and the so-called “caporalate,” the INL expects to intensify supervision in the field of fixed-term contracts, focusing on the correct implementation of the recently amended Dignity Decree. Attention will be paid to medium and large companies that make extensive and frequent use of this type of contract, verifying compliance with the numerical limits and, where applicable, the needs that justify the use of fixed-term contracts.

Information contained in this publication is intended for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice or opinion, nor is it a substitute for the professional judgment of an attorney.