Individual dismissal (Law No 604 of 15 July 1966; Legislative Decree No 23 of 4 March 2015).
If you are an employee and think you have been unfairly dismissed, you must:
- challenge the dismissal in writing within 60 days of notification, failing which the dismissal will be time-barred;
- lodge an appeal with the registry of your local Employment Tribunal within the next 180 days or send a request for conciliation or arbitration to the other party, otherwise the appeal against dismissal will be ineffective.
Dismissal must be in writing and must state the grounds on which it was based.
The employer may revoke the dismissal within 15 days of notification of the appeal and reinstate the employment relationship; in this case, you will be entitled to receive the remuneration you earned before the termination.
In order to avoid legal proceedings, the employer may offer you (within 60 days of dismissal) a net sum ranging from a minimum of 3 to a maximum of 27 months’ basic salary as severance pay. The sum must be offered in the form of a bank cheque and by accepting it, you automatically waive the right to challenge the dismissal, even if proceedings have already started. Conciliation must be made before the court, trade union or conciliation commission at the Territorial Labour Inspectorate.
Depending on the seriousness of the defect in the dismissal process found by the court, you will be able to obtain either reinstatement or compensation.
You can obtain reinstatement, in addition to compensation, in the event of discriminatory dismissal, a dismissal communicated orally or an invalid dismissal, or if you prove that you did not carry out the action you are accused of.
Relevant legislation
- Constitution - Article 36
- Civil Code - Article 2094 on ‘Employees’
- Law 15/07/66, No 604 - ‘Rules on dismissal’
- Legislative Decree No 152 of 26 May 1997 - ‘Implementation of Directive 91/533/EEC on an employer’s obligation to inform employees of the conditions applicable to the contract or employment relationship’
- Legislative Decree No 66 of 8 April 2003 - ‘Implementation of Directives 93/104/EC and 2000/34/EC concerning certain aspects of the organisation of working time’
- Legislative Decree No 23 of 4 March 2015 - ‘Provisions on permanent employment contracts with increasing protection over time, in implementation of Law No 183 of 10 December 2014’
- Legislative Decree No 81 of 15 June 2015 - ‘General rules governing employment contracts and review of the legislation on jobs, in accordance with Article 1(7) of Law No 183 of 10 December 2014’
- Legislative Decree No 151 of 14 September 2015 ‘Provisions to rationalise and streamline procedures and obligations for citizens and businesses and other provisions on employment relationships and equal opportunities, implementing Law No 183 of 10 December 2014’