Porn At Work Is Legal Rules Top Italian Court

A Fiat worker was caught watching a hardcore DVD on his laptop at a Fiat factory in 2008, but his sacking has been overruled.

Workers should not be sacked for watching porn during their lunch break, Italy's highest court has ruled.

The Court of Cassation said car manufacturer Fiat was wrong to sack a worker in Sicily for watching adult movies at work.

It marks the end of a five-year legal battle for the man, who was only identified as Guiseppe Z.

He was caught watching the hardcore DVD on his laptop at the factory in 2008.

His locker was searched and two other DVDs were discovered.

In 2010, a court in Sicily upheld the factory's decision to sack the man, triggering the protracted legal battle.

The Supreme Court said he was free to spend his lunch break how he wanted, and ruled that he should not have been sacked.

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The judges in Rome said he had had "just a glimpse of the film during a meal break" and that it had not interfered with the rest of his work.

In a separate ruling it said the carmaker was within its rights to fire another employee who was caught smoking cannabis during his lunch break.

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