January 30, 2025
Salary and benefits
Simplified corporate welfare for tax-free reimbursement of household expenses
Italian Revenue Agency

The Italian Revenue Agency has provided clarifications on the conditions for exemption—up to €1,000 (€2,000 for employees with dependent children)—for fringe benefits and amounts paid or reimbursed to workers for household utility bills, including integrated water services, electricity, and natural gas, as well as rent and mortgage interest on their primary residence.

The tax relief measure, reintroduced by the 2025 Budget Law, requires compliance with specific formalities. Among these, the employer must request from the employee either:
(i) the supporting documentation for the expenses incurred, or
(ii) a self-certification attesting to the fulfillment of the requirements established by the law.

Additionally, to prevent duplicate benefits, the employee must provide a self-certification confirming that the reimbursed expenses have not already been claimed for reimbursement elsewhere.

According to the Italian Revenue Agency, these self-certifications do not require authentication of the signature, as the final recipient responsible for verifying their accuracy is a public administration, which could impose criminal liability in the event of false or misleading declarations. Therefore, employers may collect self-certified statements signed in original by employees, accompanied by a copy of their identity documents.

January 7, 2025
Dismissal for just cause
Disciplinary dismissal valid for multiple offenses and repeated violations
Supreme Court, Labor Section

An employee was dismissed for disciplinary reasons following multiple infractions, including unauthorized absences, submission of a falsified medical certificate, unjustified abandonment of the workplace, and offensive remarks towards a colleague. Some of these infractions had already been subject to previous disciplinary actions, and all incidents occurred within a span of less than two years. The employee challenged the dismissal.

The Court of Appeal, overturning the lower court’s ruling, upheld the dismissal, emphasizing the breach of trust and considering the infractions as serious both individually and collectively, sufficient to undermine the employer’s confidence in the employee’s future conduct.

The Supreme Court confirmed the dismissal, clarifying that in cases of dismissal for just cause based on multiple contested incidents, each individual offense is independently sufficient to justify the termination, unless the employee can demonstrate that only when considered collectively do they reach a level of severity that prevents the continuation of the employment relationship.

December 10, 2024
Working hours, leave, and vacations
Sunday work entails greater sacrifice for employees
Supreme Court, Labor Section

A cleaning worker was assigned to shifts that included Sunday work, with a compensatory rest day scheduled on a different weekday. The applicable national collective bargaining agreement (CCNL) did not provide any additional compensation for Sunday work, and the employee received no extra remuneration for these shifts. The worker took legal action to claim a pay increase for Sunday work.

Both lower courts and the Supreme Court ruled in favor of a 20% wage increase for Sunday hours, based on the assumption that working on Sundays represents a greater sacrifice for employees. The Court also noted that the employer had failed to provide evidence countering the presumption of increased hardship associated with Sunday work. The ruling further emphasized that merely shifting the rest day to a weekday does not adequately compensate for the additional burden, and a financial benefit must be recognized instead.

February 5, 2025
Individual dismissal
Right to defense in disciplinary dismissal: Supreme Court clarifies deadline for submitting justifications
Supreme Court, Labor Section

An employee was dismissed for engaging in dangerous behavior with a company vehicle and causing damage to it. The employee submitted justifications late and subsequently challenged the dismissal in court, arguing that his justifications had been sent within the legal timeframe, even though they were received late by the employer.

The Court of Appeal rejected the employee’s claim, deeming his conduct sufficiently serious to justify the dismissal. However, the Supreme Court disagreed.

The Supreme Court reiterated that Article 7 of the Workers’ Statute establishes a five-day deadline for the sending of justifications by the employee, not for their receipt by the employer. The ruling emphasized that this provision aims to protect the employee’s right to defense. Based on this principle, the Supreme Court upheld the employee’s appeal.

November 5, 2024
Dismissal for just cause
Unauthorized financial transactions and forged signatures: bank employee’s dismissal deemed lawful
Supreme Court, Labor Section

A bank employee was dismissed for just cause. The Court of Appeal upheld the dismissal, rejecting the employee’s appeal, and deemed it lawful based on the following findings:
(a) the disciplinary charge was specific and not vague, as it detailed that the employee had executed financial transactions on behalf of a client without formal authorization, using a forged signature on the documentation, and later assured the client that they would cover the losses incurred from those transactions;
(b) the disciplinary action was taken in a timely manner; and
(c) the employment relationship had irreparably broken down due to a loss of trust.

The Supreme Court also dismissed the appeal, reaffirming the legal principle that just cause for dismissal is a legal concept independent of collective agreement provisions unless those provisions are more favorable to the employee. The Court confirmed that the lower court had correctly identified a severe breach of duty—particularly critical for a bank employee—regarding the verification of the authenticity of client signatures on financial investment documents.

January 31, 2025
Business transfers
Dismissal during business unit transfer: no liability for the transferee
Supreme Court, Labor Section

A female employee challenged her dismissal, arguing that it was due to the transfer of a business unit rather than the closure of the business, as claimed by the employer. The lower court ruled in her favor, declaring the dismissal null, recognizing the continuation of business activities under a different entity.

The Court of Appeal revised the decision, declaring the dismissal unlawful rather than null, applying statutory compensation protections and holding both the transferor and transferee liable for damages.

The Supreme Court clarified that dismissal due to a business transfer cannot be deemed null but only unlawful, thus falling under the compensatory protections of Article 2112 of the Civil Code. Since it was not deemed null, the dismissal does not entitle the employee to reinstatement but only to financial compensation. The Court also excluded liability for the transferee, stating that an unlawful dismissal does not result in the continuation of employment with the new employer, unlike in cases where the dismissal is declared null. As a result, the transferee is not jointly liable for damages, which fall exclusively on the former employer.

February 9, 2025
Contracting and subcontracting
Client’s direct control over contractor’s employees makes the contract illegitimate
Supreme Court, Labor Section

The Supreme Court, ruling on illegal labor intermediation, clarified that when the client exercises direct control over the contractor’s employees, other indicators of a legitimate contract become irrelevant.

In this case, the Court found that the client’s employees issued detailed instructions to the contractor’s workers and exercised direct supervision over their performance. Conversely, the formal employer (the contractor) only handled administrative tasks without any role in organizing or managing the work.

The Court reaffirmed that while a contractor may provide expertise, the law requires them to have genuine organizational and managerial authority over their workers to ensure the contract’s legitimacy. Illegal labor intermediation occurs when the contractor does not effectively manage the work but merely handles administrative aspects, effectively providing labor to the client. In such cases, the possession of assets and business risk considerations are irrelevant. The contract must be assessed based on the actual control exercised over the work.