Italy Update: Oral extension of the fixed-term contract

Court of Cassation, Labor Section, Ordinance no. 10870 of 23 April 2021

With an order of 23 April 2021, the Supreme Court of Cassation expressed its opinion on the legitimacy of the oral extension of the fixed-term employment contract.

In the case being examined by the Court, the trial judges had accepted the questions of the worker who contested the legitimacy of the oral extension of the fixed-term contract, requesting the conversion of the contract into a permanent contract.

The defendant employer pleaded that the applicant did not contest the fact that the contract had been extended, albeit orally, and argued that the legislation in force does not require the written form for the extension, but only the consent of the worker.

The stoats have accepted the employer’s thesis, underlining that the legislative decree n. 368/2001, applicable ratione temporis to the disputed employment relationship, does not provide, unlike the provisions of art. 22, paragraph 2, Legislative Decree n. 276/2003 on the subject of employment, that the extension of the fixed-term contract must be in writing.

Furthermore, the Supreme Court has emphasized the principle already expressed previously, according to which it must be considered that the failure to provide the written form for the extension is balanced by the new and more flexible sanction mechanisms, involving salary increases for the continuation of the relationship beyond the initial deadline, in addition to the transformation of the contract into a permanent relationship if this continuation exceeds the aforementioned limits of twenty or thirty days (depending on whether the initial duration of the relationship is less than or more than six months), leaving intact the burden on the employer work to prove the existence of the objective reasons justifying the extension.

By Quorum, Italy, a Transatlantic Law International Affiliated Firm. 

For further information or for any assistance please contact italy@transatlanticlaw.com

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