Your employment relationship can be terminated on one of these grounds:
- expiry of term in the case of a fixed-term contract;
- your resignation, for which you must follow the procedure indicated in the next box (Telematic resignation) to be valid;
- termination of the relationship by mutual agreement between you and your employer;
- dismissal by your employer (Law No 604 of 15 July 1966). In order for the dismissal to be lawful, it must be justified by:
- your behaviour so serious as to break the relationship of trust with the employer which is the precondition for the employment relationship (known as ‘fair grounds for dismissal or just cause’). In such cases, the dismissal is immediate, without any period of notice;
- your behaviour which, although less serious than that constituting just cause of dismissal, nevertheless constitutes a significant breach of your contractual obligations (justified subjective reason). In this case, you are entitled to a period of notice, the duration of which is usually laid down in the governing collective agreement and indicated in your individual contract. Failing this, you will have to be paid an indemnity in lieu of notice.
- objective needs of the employer attributable to production activity, work organisation or regular functioning of the company structure; in this case the dismissal does not depend, therefore, on your behaviour and you are still entitled to the period of notice or the related indemnity (justified objective reason).
In certain specific cases, governed by special rules, there is no need for a just cause or a justified reason for the conclusion of the relationship. This concerns, in particular, cases of dismissal due to:
- failure to pass the probationary period;
- expiration of the three-year apprenticeship period.
Special rules also apply to the dismissal of domestic workers and managers for whom, likewise, no just cause or justified objective reason is required.