Bologna, August 26, 2026 – A waitress takes **sick leave**, but then **publishes photos of her birthday on Instagram** and **gets fired**. She appeals and the judge rules in her favor. The protagonist of the story, a woman employed in a Bologna restaurant, decided to turn to the court, challenging the measure and asking for **compensation.** The judge ruled that **the dismissal was not justified** and ordered the company to pay an indemnity equal to ten months’ salary, in addition to legal costs.
The incident dates back to May 2025
The dismissal letter dates back to May 2025. On the 11th, the woman had communicated via **WhatsApp** conversation to her manager her inability to come to work for **health reasons,** receiving a simple “ok” as a reply, and the following day she had sent the relevant medical certificate to the company.
Three incidents disputed with the waitress
According to what the waitress stated in the appeal, “the employer had disciplinarily contested **three incidents**: having **shown up for work on a day** that should have been a **day off**; having **eaten her meal during working hours** instead of at the end of the shift; having declared herself **unwell on May 11, 2025**, while **photographs** related to birthday celebrations had been **published** on her Instagram profile, followed by the submission of a medical certificate issued the following day.”
The applicant’s position
The applicant argued that none of the contested charges were disciplinarily relevant or otherwise capable of justifying dismissal. “With reference to May 4, 2025, she stated that she had reported for work based on the previous shift schedule and had interpreted the manager’s lack of dissent as consent to her presence on duty.
As for **eating during the shift**, the applicant argued that this practice was habitually followed by employees and that, in any case, a short break to eat a meal **could not justify a dismissal sanction**. Regarding the sick leave on May 11, 2025, the worker highlighted that **the diagnosed pathology was incompatible with the performance of work duties** but not with the use of a mobile phone or social networks, so **the publication of photographs** on Instagram **would not demonstrate either the simulation of illness** or behavior suitable for delaying recovery. The worker also emphasized that she had promptly communicated her absence and had sent the medical certificate the following day.”
The company: the behaviors that led to dismissal
The company reviewed the employee’s disciplinary **”history”**, arguing for the **reiteration of previous relevant behaviors** which – together with the last of them, occurring on May 11, 2025 – led to **dismissal**. But, according to the judge, the conduct was not serious enough to justify the maximum sanction, i.e., dismissal for subjective just cause: it was therefore excluded that the worker’s proven conduct, prior to her absence on her birthday, met the requirements for subjective just cause.
The judge’s decision
The judge of the Court of Bologna therefore declared **the grounds for dismissal non-existent**, ordering the company to pay an indemnity equal to ten months’ salary, in addition to legal costs.
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