By Order no. 27353 of 26 September 2023, the Court of Cassation ruled on the case of an employee
who had been dismissed for stealing company assets of low value. The employee challenged his
dismissal and brought a legal action asking to be reinstated back to work. The Court, while ruling
out the annulment of dismissal, held that the dismissal was disproportionate to the modest value of
the goods stolen by the employee and sentenced the Company to pay compensation to the
employee. The Court of Cassation, after hearing the case, confirmed that, since the charge (i.e.
theft) fell within those for which the applicable National Collective Bargaining Agreement provided
for dismissal, the employee’s dismissal could not be annulled. However, since the sanction imposed
was clearly disproportionate to the offence committed, the Supreme Court upheld the decision of
the trial judges, holding that compensation under Article 18(5) of Law no. 300 of 1970 was
applicable in the case at hand.
