Supreme Court of Cassation: company controls and use of computers, dismissal is legitimate if the employee has been informed.

The Court of Cassation has returned to rule on the ever-topical issue of employer controls on IT tools and their disciplinary consequences. With judgment no. 28365 of 27 October 2025, the judges of legitimacy confirmed the full legitimacy of the dismissal of an employee who had disseminated, massively and unauthorizedly, personal data and confidential documents of the company.

The central point of the decision concerns the importance of prior information to the worker: if the employee has been correctly warned of the methods of use of the computer and the possibility of checks, the checks carried out by the employer do not violate the protections provided for by the Workers' Statute (art. 4 of Law 300/1970). The same Guarantor for the protection of personal data, already in previous provisions, had clarified that the precautions on remote controls also apply to work tools, including company computers.

In the case examined, the company had adopted an internal policy on the use of IT equipment, transparently illustrating to employees both the rules of conduct (e.g. the correct use of the internet and e-mail) and any checks that could be carried out in the event of anomalies. This document, circulated to all staff, was considered sufficient proof of the information, a decisive element for judging the control legitimate.

The subsequent IT investigation revealed that, in a space of a few months, the worker had made tens of thousands of accesses to the systems and sent millions of files to external addresses, compromising the confidentiality of company and third party data. A conduct that, according to the Court, irreparably undermined the fiduciary bond, integrating an intentional and repeated violation of the duties of loyalty and diligence.

The decision confirms a well-established principle: preventive transparency protects both parties. On the one hand, the employer can legitimately monitor company tools to prevent abuse; on the other hand, the worker is placed in a position to know the limits and consequences of his actions. Only in the presence of this clarity of information does employer control assume a lawful and proportionate value.