Interview with Stefano Trifirò in Corriere Economia on February 10, 2025
Managing relationships between employers and employees is an increasingly urgent challenge for businesses, particularly when acts of insubordination threaten corporate authority and may lead to disciplinary sanctions.
“Entrepreneurs,” observes Stefano Trifirò, founder of the law firm Trifirò & Partners, “are increasingly consulting us on issues related to employment relationships, especially when an employee’s behavior, which goes against company rules, risks justifying dismissal for insubordination.”
Disputes on these matters have intensified, especially in the age of social media, which amplifies tensions and turns internal company incidents into public cases, giving them widespread visibility that could further complicate the situation.
The relevant legal reference, explains the lawyer, is Article 2104 of the Civil Code, which requires employees to comply with directives issued by the company and their superiors. However, the line between legitimate dissent and insubordination is often thin.
“Even a refusal expressed without insults but in an ostentatiously provocative and defiant tone may still justify a disciplinary sanction proportionate to the infraction committed,” Trifirò illustrates.
Jurisprudence has gone even further: “In some cases, dismissal has been deemed legitimate when an employee has disseminated defamatory messages against the company through open emails or social media posts, making them visible to the corporate community,” adds the lawyer.
But that is not all. The courts have also recognized the severity of such behavior when criticism was expressed through Facebook posts or other platforms, provided they were deemed offensive and damaging to the company’s reputation.
Nonetheless, dismissal is not always justified. “When the right to criticize the employer or a superior has remained within the bounds of truth, even if expressed in strong tones and with harsh language, judges have deemed the dismissal unlawful,” clarifies Trifirò.
Furthermore, there are specific protections for executives. “A manager’s right to criticize cannot be curtailed if, in order to avoid liability towards the company, they express their disagreement with corporate directives in appropriate settings and without any pretext. The concept of insubordination, therefore, varies depending on the context, but one general rule remains unchanged: respect for hierarchies, company rules, and corporate reputation is essential,” concludes Trifirò.
