JUSTIFIED ABSENCE IF THE OFFICE TEMPERATURE IS VERY COLD (ITALIA OGGI, 2 APRIL 2015, PAGE 36)

The Cassation Court, with its ruling no. 6631/2015 of 1 April 2015, confirmed that an office environment which is too cold justified the workers refusal to work, and in such cases the workers do not lose their right to pay. The case regarded the restitution of pay to employees corresponding to an hour and a half of work withheld due to the fact that they had left work because of the cold temperature in the office caused by a malfunction of the boiler. The Court confirmed that the employer “is obligated, pursuant to article 2087 of the Civil Code, to ensure working conditions suitable for guaranteeing the safety of processing”. The violation of this obligation, added the Court, “gave the workers the right not to perform their job, objecting to the breach of others”. In such case, the Court continued, the workers “maintained their right to be paid”.