COURT OF CASSATION: WHEN A DISCIPLINARY DISMISSAL NOTIFIED BY STANDARD E-MAIL IS VALID
The Court of Cassation, Labor Section, with order No. 13731 of 11 May 2026 stated that the provision in the collective agreement stipulating specific methods of communicating a disciplinary dismissal (registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt; hand-delivered registered letter; certified e-mail) does not impose a “prescribed form” within the meaning and for the purposes of Article 1352 of the Civil Code, but it merely regulates the manner in which the disciplinary dismissal is brought to the employee’s attention, thus the exclusive transmission stage.
This means that, in the absence of specific provisions in the national collective bargaining agreement, notification of disciplinary dismissal given by means other than those listed in the collective agreement – for example, by standard e-mail (as in the present case) – does not affect the validity of the employer’s written notice of termination of the employment relationship.
Indeed, according to the Court's reasoning, what is essential for the dismissal to be valid is that it is in writing.
