SERVICES
Resignations
Resignations under pressure: valid only if resulting from free and informed will
Supreme Court, Criminal Section
An employee submitted her resignation after repeated solicitations by the company, which presented dismissal as the only alternative. A few days later, she attempted to revoke the resignation, claiming that the decision had been taken under strong psychological pressure and did not reflect a truly free will.
The Court of Appeal excluded the validity of the revocation, holding that the declaration of intent had already been perfected. The Supreme Court, however, upheld the employee’s appeal, reiterating that the genuineness of resignations must be assessed concretely: they are valid only if the employee submits them in a fully informed manner and free from conditioning, fear, or undue pressure by the employer.
The Supreme Court clarified that where consent is vitiated by threat or a state of psychological subjugation, the resignation must be considered null and void. In such cases, the employment relationship is deemed never to have ceased, with the consequent right to reinstatement and to payment of accrued wages.
The decision reaffirms a principle of particular importance: even where resignations are formally correct (for example, submitted through telematic procedures), the judge must always ascertain the true freedom of the employee’s will, protecting them against employer conduct that influences their choice.