Milan Magistrate’s Court, Vitali-Airoldi v. Maserati Spa and Officine Alfieri Maserati, 21 July 1994
Constitution of the Republic of Italy
Article 10, paragraph 1
The Italian legal system conforms to the generally recognised rules of international law.
Italy
Holidays with pay
Reference to international law to strengthen a decision based on domestic law
Ratified treaty1
Determination of the amount of paid holiday allowances/ Deficiency in national legislation/ Reference to international law to strengthen a decision based on domestic law
A firm had transferred a great deal of property plus the current employment relationships to another firm. However, the employees were demanding payment of the wages due. The Court referred to international law to add force to its interpretation of the collective labour agreement applicable to the employment contracts, holding that regular overtime should be taken into account in the calculation of paid holidays and stating that Article 7 of ILO Convention No. 132 of 19702 was a further reason for adhering to the applicants’ argument.
After referring to ILO Convention No. 132 to add force to its remedy, the Milan Magistrate’s Court ruled that overtime that had been worked regularly was to be counted in the calculation of the allowances paid as holiday pay.
1 ILO Convention on Holidays with Pay (Revised), 1970 (No. 132).
2 Article 7 of Convention No. 132:
“1. Every person taking the holiday envisaged in this Convention shall receive in respect of the full period of that holiday at least his normal or average remuneration (including the cash equivalent of any part of that remuneration which is paid in kind and which is not a permanent benefit continuing whether or not the person concerned is on holiday), calculated in a manner to be determined by the competent authority or through the appropriate machinery in each country.
2. The amounts due in pursuance of paragraph 1 of this Article shall be paid to the person concerned in advance of the holiday, unless otherwise provided in an agreement applicable to him and the employer.”
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