With decision No. 118 rendered on 21 July 2025, the Constitutional Court interve…
The Court of Milan, Labour Section (judgment no. 4276/2023), recently declared null and void, as discriminatory, the dismissal ordered for alleged absolute and permanent inability to perform the duties of a teacher suffering from multiple sclerosis who was hired under a fixed-term employment contract including a probationary and training period aimed at permanent employment.
In particular, also in accordance with principles set out in European case law, the Court, departing from the assumption that a disabled worker is more exposed to the risk of incurring the application of the rules on grace period (periodo di comporto) compared to a non-disabled worker, upheld worker's claims, acknowledging a twofold form of discrimination: indirect, as a result of the forced application of the ordinary discipline of grace period to an already certified severely disabled person (who was induced to apply for unpaid leave in the imminence of the expiration of the grace period, loosing economic support), and direct, since the dismissal was ordered purely on the ground of pathological condition, without adopting any "reasonable accommodations" (measures or remedies suitable for eliminating or even mitigating the disadvantageous situation for the disabled person), relying on a non-final determination and preventing the claimant from actually carrying out the probationary and training period for which he was hired.
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