Italian courts uphold rights for precarious teachers

Italian courts have issued rulings reinforcing the rights of precarious teachers against the Ministry of Education and Merit regarding benefits and compensation for long-term contract use.

The Court of Cosenza ruled that the 'Carta Docente' (Teacher's Electronic Card) must be granted to precarious teachers. The court found that denying this benefit violates the right to professional training and equal treatment. If a teacher is still in the school system, they are entitled to the card and its value for previous years; if they have left the system, they are entitled to monetary compensation for damages.

In a separate matter, the Court of Appeal of Florence upheld a decision awarding four months of salary to a Spanish teacher as compensation for the abuse of fixed-term contracts. The teacher had worked 114 months under 13 different contracts at the same institute in Arezzo between 2009 and 2025. The court rejected the Ministry's argument that the teacher's eventual permanent appointment through a merit-based competition served as sufficient reparation for the previous period of precarious employment.