ITA 
«Reporting the employer is lawful as long as the employee does not act being aware of the employer’s innocence».
Court of cassation, no 30866/2023.
In the present case, an employee challenged the dismissal served as a result of a report made against the company and its legal representative for misappropriation of the end-of-service payment (T.F.R.).
Both the Tribunal and the Court of Appeal considered the dismissal as lawful.
The facts of the case were related to a previous dismissal, which was annulled in court, and to a dispute over the TFR payment, which had been followed by the employee's report before the criminal court. According to the Court of Appeal, the report represented facts that were clearly untrue.
Such conduct, therefore, could not be considered as aimed at obtaining the punishment of the offender, instead it was aimed at harming the honor of both the Company and its legal representative.
The Supreme Court confirmed the previous decision of Tribunal and Court of Appeal.
In particular, the Supreme Court clarified that the employee's report had been considered as pretextual by the Court of Appeal because it was based on untrue and incorrect facts in terms of accounting. In fact, the employee requested sums being aware that were not due, even in relation to what he had already received. And in any case, there was already a pending civil dispute on those facts, so there was no need for a criminal report for misappropriation.
This unfaithful report was aimed at damaging the honor of the Company. Therefore, the employee's conduct integrated a disciplinary offense, violating the duty of loyalty under Art. 2105 of the Italian Civil Code and the general principles of fairness and good faith under Art. 1175 and 1375 of the Italian Civil Code, able to irreparably damaging the bond of trust and not allowing the continuation of the employment.