EU Court of Justice finds Italy in breach of EU law when using fixed-term contracts

The Court found that Italy makes excessive use of successive temporary contracts without effective safeguards against abuse. Italian legislation imposes neither a maximum duration nor a limit on renewals for ATA fixed-term contracts, creating structural job insecurity.

The judges also criticised Italy’s reliance on competitive examinations as the main pathway to permanent employment. Since these examinations are organised irregularly and unpredictably, they fail to prevent the repeated use of temporary contracts. Moreover, the requirement of at least two years of fixed-term service to access these examinations effectively perpetuates precarious employment for positions that meet permanent staffing needs.

The Court further rejected Italy’s argument that flexibility justifies the system, noting that national legislation does not define specific circumstances warranting repeated fixed-term hiring.

Overall, the judgment confirms the European Commission’s position that Italy’s recruitment system for ATA staff violates EU rules designed to prevent abuse of temporary work and promote stable employment. The ruling also exposes broader structural weaknesses in the Italian education system, which have already attracted repeated criticism from the European Commission.

The European Commission opened infringement proceedings against Italy in July 2019 through a formal notice, followed by an additional formal notice in December 2020. In April 2023, the European Commission issued a reasoned opinion before referring the case to the Court of Justice of the EU in October 2024.

Under EU Directive 1999/70/EC, Member States must ensure equal treatment between fixed-term and permanent workers unless objectively justified, and introduce effective measures to prevent abuse arising from successive temporary contracts.

The Court confirmed that Italy had failed to properly implement the Directive and had therefore breached its obligations under EU law. In particular, the judgment reaffirmed that:

• repeated renewal of temporary contracts without effective safeguards violates EU law

• compensation and sanctions for abuse must be effective and dissuasive

• fixed-term workers must not receive systematically less favourable treatment regarding employment conditions, including pay progression

The ruling carries major political and social significance, as Italy records one of the highest levels of precarious employment in the EU public education sector. Trade unions estimate that the number of temporary school staff has risen sharply over the past decade.

CESI and the Italian teacher trade union ANIEF, an affiliate of CESI's Italian member organization CISAL, strongly supported the action through advocacy at both European and national level, EU-funded capacity-building and awareness-raising projects, and broader efforts to combat precarious employment. ANIEF has also brought numerous cases before national courts, supported proceedings before the Court of Justice of the EU, and filed appeals before the Council of Europe's European Committee of Social Rights concerning the precarious employment of support teachers.

CESI and its member organisations expect that the ruling will lead to:

• legislative reforms in Italy

• stronger compensation claims for affected workers

• increased pressure to stabilise employment in schools and other public sectors

• broader implications for other Member States relying extensively on temporary employment arrangements

Marcello Pacifico, President of the Italian ANIEF teachers' union and President of CESI's Europe Academy, stated: "This is a historic day for Italian school staff. We hope that this ruling will finally put an end to the abusive practices plaguing the teaching profession and administrative staff. We also expect it to lead to concrete structural measures to prevent further violations of European law, not only in Italy but also in other Member States."

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