Holidays during lessons, the headmaster cannot deny them

The Labour Judge of Vicenza (sentence 188/2026) clarified that the six days of leave that can be taken by teaching staff during teaching activities, if requested for personal or family reasons, are not subject to the discretionary assessment of the school manager nor to the prior verification of organisational burdens for the administration. The decision intervenes on a dispute brought by a permanent teacher who had been denied three days of leave requested for family needs, subsequently qualified ex officio as parental leave.

The administration had justified the refusal by referring to the need to guarantee replacement without additional costs. The Court reconstructed the legal framework, clearly distinguishing between the ordinary rules on holidays and the special rules. In particular, the latter allows the use of up to six days even during class periods for documented personal or family reasons, without the organisational limits provided for ordinary holidays operating.

A relevant principle follows: the school manager cannot compare the organisational interest of the school with the personal reasons of the teacher, nor make the granting of the benefit conditional on the possibility of replacement or the absence of costs. The employer's control remains limited to formal profiles, i.e. the submission of the application and the documentation, including self-certification. The judge held the refusal to be unlawful, also pointing out the lack of evidence of any additional costs, which were, moreover, excluded by the internal substitution already provided for by the school plan.

The teacher's right to take her holiday on the days requested was therefore established. The ruling offers an important operational clarification for educational institutions: the institution of leave for personal reasons cannot be compressed by internal organisational practices, affirming the centrality of the employee's right to take it.