Italy

Employees must notify the employer promptly of any absence and provide adequate justification. Watching a World Cup match does not constitute valid justification for absence. An unjustified absence constitutes a disciplinary breach. For a single day's absence, the employer may impose a written warning or a fine of up to four hours' pay. Where absences are repeated or prolonged, more serious sanctions may be applied, including suspension from work or, in the most serious cases, dismissal.

The employer may request a control medical visit through INPS (the National Social Security Institute). If the employee is unavailable for the visit without justified reason, or if the medical certificate proves to be false, disciplinary sanctions up to and including dismissal may be imposed. However, medical control visits through INPS must be requested, scheduled and can only take place only during specific time slots; therefore, it is unlikely that such a visit can be conducted on the same day as the request.

The employer may administer breathalysers, conducted by the occupational physician, only where workers perform duties subject to an absolute prohibition on alcohol consumption (e.g. drivers, machinery operators). For all other employees, the employer must provide medical examinations as part of health surveillance aimed at detecting potential alcohol dependency and may, where appropriate, take disciplinary action if alcohol consumption impairs work performance. However, if an employee attends work in a state of manifest drunkenness, the employer may initiate disciplinary action which may result in dismissal.

To modify working hours, the employer must obtain the consent of the employees or their trade union representatives and comply with the limits set out in the applicable collective bargaining a greement, subject to the modifications not being substantial.

Where the employer has reasonable grounds to suspect that employees are using company IT systems to watch World Cup matches during working hours, it may carry out targeted monitoring. Should such conduct be verified, the employer may initiate disciplinary action and impose sanctions up to and including dismissal.

For company-organised events, normal disciplinary rules apply. For private events not organised by the company, conduct outside working hours is generally irrelevant to the employment relationship, unless it seriously damages the company's reputation or constitutes a criminal offence that undermines the trust necessary for the continuation of the employment relationship. In such cases, disciplinary action may be initiated against the employee and sanctions up to and including dismissal may be imposed.