Italian Supreme Court Allows Caregiver Workers to Decline Night Shifts

The Court of Cassation (Italy) issued ordinance No. 20229/2026 on 16 June 2026, confirming that employees who act as caregivers for family members with disabilities may refuse night‑shift assignments regardless of the severity of the relative’s handicap. The ruling overturns the need to meet the “serious disability” threshold set out in Article 3, paragraph 3 of Law 104/1992. In the case, a worker identified as “Tizio” successfully appealed a lower‑court decision that had upheld his request to avoid night work, and the employer, Alfa S.r.l., challenged the exemption under Article 11 of Legislative Decree No. 66/2003. The Supreme Court’s decision clarifies that the exemption applies whenever a worker has a disabled person in their care, without requiring a determination of grave disability, thereby affecting the organization of work schedules for caregivers across Italy.