29 October 2025
Dismissal for just cause
Dismissal via WhatsApp: valid if written, but void without disciplinary notice
Naples Court
A worker, dismissed via a WhatsApp message containing the phrase “intends to end the employment relationship,” challenged the decision, arguing that the dismissal was null and void due to lack of form and absence of a disciplinary notice.
The Court of Naples North clarified that a dismissal communicated through a messaging app is, in principle, suitable to fulfill the written form required by law, as it constitutes a digital document that clearly and unambiguously expresses the employer’s intent to terminate the relationship.
Nevertheless, the Judge deemed the dismissal invalid because it was issued without a prior notice of charges and was entirely vague. This omission constitutes a violation of mandatory law and results in the nullity of the disciplinary dismissal, with the application of reinstatement protection provided by the Workers’ Statute.
The ruling confirms the view that the formal validity of the communication does not exempt the employer from observing the procedural guarantees required for disciplinary dismissal, reiterating that the notice of charges is an essential condition for the legitimacy of the termination.
