• Court deems employee dismissal arbitrary
• Employee spent years in isolation

An Italian court issued a ruling in favor of a man who was dismissed from a recycling company after sleeping during work hours, considering the termination “unfair.”

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Francesco Rucci was fired in May 2023 after a photo was taken of him with his eyes closed and head slightly bowed, which management interpreted as sleeping on the job, posing a “safety risk.”

Rucci denied any wrongdoing, explaining that he suffers from insomnia. He said: “I clearly remember the day I felt dizzy, closed my eyes for about ten minutes for a short nap, and they fired me afterward.”

The Court of Appeal in the southern Italian city of Taranto ruled that the dismissal was “unfair” and an “illegitimate act,” noting that there was no “significant breach” to justify the most severe disciplinary action.

The court ordered Rucci to be reinstated to the company where he had worked since 2016, and to be paid all his financial entitlements, including severance.

The court revealed that before his dismissal, Rucci had been moved to a new office where he spent long hours without any real tasks, following prior disputes with management over workplace practices.

The new position was described as a promotion, but it came without any salary increase or new responsibilities. Rucci described his work as “an imposed isolation… where time never passed.”

He added that from his desk, he could see “only a blank wall, a shelf with boxes, a trash bin, and another room through glass,” remaining there “12 hours a day” with “no internet connection even to pass the time.”

He explained that he was left in a state of “complete inactivity and professional humiliation,” later performing “marginal and demeaning tasks.”

During a legal battle that lasted nearly three years, Rucci said he suffered an “emotional breakdown” and stopped sleeping. He added: “At night, I had to take pills just to sleep… I looked at my children and felt so guilty.”