Italian courts rule against Ministry of Education in teacher compensation cases

Italian courts have issued several rulings against the Ministry of Education and Merit regarding the compensation of substitute teachers.

A court in Nocera Inferiore ordered the Ministry to pay twelve months of compensation to a teacher who worked continuously on annual fixed-term contracts for a decade, from the 2015/2016 to the 2025/2026 school year. The ruling cited European Union law, specifically Directive 1999/70/EC, which requires member states to prevent abuses related to the successive use of fixed-term contracts.

In a separate ruling, the Court of Rimini ordered the Ministry to pay for unused vacation days to a teacher covering substitutions between the 2018/19 and 2023/24 school years. The decision addresses the period between the end of classes and June 30, when contracts remain active. This ruling is among several recent favorable decisions for substitute teachers in cities including Milan, Arezzo, Florence, Verona, and Bergamo.