Compensation for a teacher on a temporary contract for 10 years, even if she has since been given a permanent post

A Spanish language and literature teacher from Arezzo, who had been employed as a supply teacher on fixed-term contracts for 10 years, successfully sued the Ministry of Education and was awarded compensation, even though she was subsequently given a ‘permanent post’.

According to the Ministry, the teacher would not have been entitled to compensation as she had, in any case, been granted permanent status; however, the court ruled that being granted permanent status does not constitute grounds for ‘amnesty’. ‘Being granted permanent status following a competitive examination does not negate the right to compensation for the years spent on a temporary contract’, ruled the Florence Court of Appeal, which, upholding a judgement by the Civil Court of Arezzo, ordered the Ministry of Education to pay the teacher compensation equivalent to four months’ salary for the entire period of temporary employment.

For almost ten years, the teacher taught foreign languages at the same secondary school in the province of Arezzo, signing 13 annual contracts (expiring on 30 June) from the 2009–2010 academic year to the 2024–2025 academic year. In total, she has worked as a supply teacher for 114 months and 27 days: more than three times the European limit of 36 months. In 2020, she won the standard competitive examination, coming top of the ranking list, but her appointment to a permanent post will not take place until 1 September 2025. The teacher brought the case before the court to establish that the repeated renewal of fixed-term contracts was unlawful due to the 36-month limit having been exceeded, and to seek compensation for the damage suffered.

The judge upheld the appeal. The decision was challenged by the Ministry of Education and Merit on the specific ground that, having passed the competitive examination and now holding a permanent post, the teacher had already received redress, and nothing further was due to her. The appeal was dismissed by the Florence Court of Appeal, Labour Division, which also noted that the 2020 competition was a genuine merit-based selection process, comprising a preliminary screening, two written tests and an oral test, and was open even to those who were already on a permanent contract.