An Italian woman who fell and broke her ankle while working from home has obtained compensation in an unprecedented court ruling hailed a victory for workers’ rights.
In April 2022, the woman, an employee in the University of Padua’s law department, fractured her ankle in two places. The injury, which happened during a Zoom meeting where she fell after she got up from her desk to fetch documents, required surgery and treatment lasting more than four months.
The woman, 60, was denied benefits from Inail, the national body that manages mandatory insurance against workplace injuries and illnesses, because the accident occurred at home, meaning she was forced to shoulder the burden of the medical costs, including the hiring of a wheelchair.
The woman sought legal assistance from her workplace union, Federazione Gilda Unams (FGU), which in turn appealed to Padua’s labour court.
In a ruling last year by the judge Maurizio Pascali but which was only made public by the union this week, the accident was classified as work-related and so the woman was awarded compensation, including the back payment of benefits and the reimbursement of medical costs.
“This sentence is a victory for the rights of Italian workers,” said Andrea Berto, who heads the Padua unit of FGU. “The public institution that should have paid the benefits was trying to save money at the woman’s cost. This story has resonated across the country and I’m happy that we publicised it, because it means if anyone else is in a similar situation they can refer to this sentence.”
The woman has returned to the university and continues to work part of the week at home.
“When we began the appeal, there were no previous cases of this kind in Italy, at least we did not find any,” said Carmela Furian, one of the lawyers who represented her. “Or perhaps there have been similar case that were resolved before reaching court. But in this situation, Inail was forced to recognise the accident as being workplace-related.”
As with other countries in Europe, in Italy the home working trend gained momentum during the coronavirus pandemic. As of 2023, just under 3.4 million people employed on permanent contracts worked from home for at least half of their working days per month, according to figures from Istat, Italy’s national statistics agency.
A survey carried out in 2024 by the Polytechnic of Milan estimated that the figure would rise to 3.7m in 2025, with seven out of 10 Italians saying they would contest their employer if it enforced a return-to-the-office mandate. Twenty percent of those surveyed said they would seriously consider changing jobs if forced to return to the office full-time, while 20% would demand a higher salary.
Despite the growing trend of flexible working in Italy, the percentage (5.9%) of “smart workers” in the country is still well below the EU’s average of 9.1%, according to Eurostat figures in 2023.
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