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  "path": "/news/world/italy-news-unfair-dismissal-sleeping",
  "publishedAt": "2026-02-05T15:14:09.000Z",
  "site": "https://www.gbnews.com",
  "tags": [
    "Viking skull discovered in mass grave with evidence of brain surgery",
    "Care home bosses jailed in 'one of Britain's biggest elder fraud cases'",
    "Nigel Farage unveils Reform UK's new Wales leader ahead of Senedd elections",
    "The GB News Editorial Charter"
  ],
  "textContent": "\n\n\nA man was deemed to have been unfairly dismissed by his bosses after being captured on camera, apparently dozing while on the job.\n\nFrancesco Rucci lost his position at Ecologistic - an Italian company based in the town of Ginosa - responsible for converting plastic into produce containers, in May 2023.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nHis employer claimed photographs showing him with closed eyes and a lowered head constituted sleeping on duty, presenting \"a safety risk\".\n\nThe southern Italian court of appeal in Lecce declared the termination \"unfair\" and an \"illegitimate act\", concluding there was \"no significant breach\" warranting such severe disciplinary action.\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nTRENDING\n\nStories\n\nVideos\n\nYour Say\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nJudges have mandated Mr Rucci's reinstatement along with payment of all outstanding wages, including severance.\n\nMr Rucci had joined the company in 2016 and served as a union representative.\n\nBefore his dismissal, he had clashed with management over workplace practices.\n\nFollowing these disagreements, he was moved to a different workspace where he found himself with extended periods of inactivity.\n\nThe company presented this reassignment as a promotion, yet it came with neither additional pay nor fresh responsibilities.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nMr Rucci characterised his new position as \"an imposed isolation… where time never passed\".\n\nHe was left in what he described as a state of \"total inactivity and professional humiliation\", eventually being assigned only \"marginal and demeaning tasks\".\n\nThe Italian’s working conditions in the reassigned role were Spartan to say the least.\n\nFrom his desk, he could see \"only a blank wall, a shelf with boxes, a bin, and another room through glass windows\", he explained.\n\n### LATEST DEVELOPMENTS\n\n\n\n\n  * Viking skull discovered in mass grave with evidence of brain surgery\n  * Care home bosses jailed in 'one of Britain's biggest elder fraud cases'\n  * Nigel Farage unveils Reform UK's new Wales leader ahead of Senedd elections\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nMr Rucci spent 12-hour shifts in this environment with \"no internet connection even to pass the time\".\n\n\"I remember perfectly the day I felt dizzy, closed my eyes for about 10 minutes, and dozed off. They fired me,\" he said.\n\nThe nearly three-year legal fight exacted a heavy emotional price. Mr Rucci said he experienced \"an emotional breakdown\" and \"stopped sleeping\".\n\n\"At night, I had to take pills without which I couldn't sleep… I looked at my children and felt so guilty,\" he said.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nThe family's finances suffered considerably as they became reliant on a single income, per The Telegraph.\n\nMr Rucci said they had to \"roll up (their) sleeves\" to manage, with his wife eventually securing part-time employment to help make ends meet.\n\nHe was critical of the lack of union backing during his ordeal, condemning \"the total absence of a union that failed to defend either its own member or its delegate\".\n\nSupport for colleagues was also not forthcoming, which Mr Rucci said was because they \"feared retaliation from the company\".\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nEven still, the worker said he was \"surprised not to receive even a sign of sympathy from many of them\".\n\nDespite his apprehension about returning, Mr Rucci remains resolute. \"I don't know how I'll feel about returning. It will certainly have a strong impact,\" he acknowledged.\n\nHe pledged to \"return to work with (his) head held high\" and \"continue to defend workers' rights fearlessly\".\n\n\"Today, more than ever, resistance is needed. And it's needed by everyone,\" he added.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n**Our Standards:The GB News Editorial Charter **",
  "title": "Man who was fired after falling asleep on job ruled to have been unfairly dismissed"
}