Lettera di Richiamo: How a Disciplinary Warning Works in Italy

A lettera di richiamo, a written disciplinary warning, is by far the most common workplace disciplinary act in Italy, and it is also the one where an employer most often skips a step it does not realise is mandatory.

This page covers the everyday richiamo scritto: what it is, the procedure that has to precede it even though it falls well short of dismissal, how to respond to one, and what happens to it over time. For the same procedure applied to the gravest sanction, a giusta causa dismissal, see dismissal for just cause.

Information verified on 21 July 2026. This page provides general legal information and does not constitute legal advice for an individual situation.

What a lettera di richiamo is, and where it sits on the ladder

Art. 7, L. 300/1970 governs the whole disciplinary ladder, and a lettera di richiamo, a written warning, sits near the bottom of it, above a purely verbal reprimand and below a multa, a sospensione, and dismissal itself.

The employer's disciplinary rules, the conduct that can be sanctioned and the procedure for contesting a sanction, have to be made known to workers in advance, typically by posting them somewhere accessible to everyone. A richiamo issued under rules the worker was never given access to is vulnerable on that basis alone.

The procedure a richiamo has to follow

This is the part most often skipped in practice, precisely because a written warning looks minor enough that employers sometimes treat it as informal.

A specific written contestazione comes first. The employer must notify the worker in writing of the specific conduct alleged, before applying any sanction beyond a purely verbal warning.

A five day wait is mandatory. No sanction more serious than a verbal warning, including a richiamo scritto, can be applied until five days have passed from that written contestazione. The point of the wait is to give the worker a genuine chance to respond before the sanction is decided.

The worker can respond and can be assisted. The worker may reply in writing during that window and can ask to be assisted by a representative of a union they belong to or have given a mandate to.

The sanction ladder is capped. Where the sanction is not dismissal, a multa cannot exceed four hours of base pay, and a sospensione cannot exceed ten days.

Responding to a lettera di richiamo

A worker who receives a richiamo has a genuine window, not just a formality, to respond before it becomes final. A response is normally addressed directly to whoever signed the contestazione, in writing, and it should do three things: address the specific conduct described, since the contestazione has to be specific and the response should match it point by point; state your own version of events or context, including anything that shows the conduct did not happen as described or was less serious than characterised; and, where relevant, ask for the assistance of a union representative before the five day window closes.

A response that simply says the worker disagrees, without engaging with the specific conduct alleged, does less work than one that answers the contestazione directly. Keeping a copy of both the contestazione and your response, with the date each was sent, matters later if the sanction is challenged or if it resurfaces in a future matter.

Challenging a richiamo: conciliazione within twenty days

A worker to whom a sanction has already been applied can, within the following twenty days, request the constitution of a collegio di conciliazione e arbitrato, a conciliation and arbitration board, through the local ufficio provinciale del lavoro. The board has one representative chosen by each side and a third member chosen by agreement or, failing agreement, appointed by the labour office's director.

The sanction stays suspended while the board considers it. If the employer does not name its own representative within ten days of being invited to, the sanction has no effect at all. If the employer instead goes to court, the sanction stays suspended until that case is decided. This route exists alongside, not instead of, an ordinary claim to the giudice del lavoro, and none of it displaces the separate 60 and 180 day deadlines that apply specifically to a dismissal rather than a lesser sanction.

The two year rule, precisely

Art. 7 states plainly that a disciplinary sanction cannot be taken into account for any purpose once two years have passed since it was applied. This is a rule about later use, not a limitation period on challenging the sanction itself when it is first issued.

In practice this means an employer cannot cite a richiamo from three years ago as an aggravating factor in a new disciplinary matter, cannot use it to argue a pattern of misconduct that supports a harsher sanction now, and cannot rely on it to justify treating a new, lesser infraction more severely. The richiamo itself is not erased from a worker's personnel history as a historical fact, but its legal weight for any future disciplinary purpose ends at the two year mark.

Why a defective richiamo can fail even if the conduct was real

This is the genuinely useful point for a worker who has received one. Italian courts and conciliation boards treat the procedural question, was the contestazione specific and written, and was the five day window respected, as separate from the substantive question, did the conduct actually happen.

A richiamo issued the same day as an alleged incident, with no separate written contestazione and no five day wait, can be annulled purely for that procedural failure, even where the worker does not dispute that the underlying conduct occurred. The procedure is an independent requirement, not paperwork layered on top of conduct that speaks for itself.

How a pattern of warnings connects to a future dismissal

A single richiamo, correctly issued, is a record, not a countdown. But a documented pattern of richiami for related conduct can become relevant later if an employer moves to a giustificato motivo soggettivo or giusta causa dismissal, since it can support the argument that the conduct was repeated and that the worker was on clear notice. Because a sanction stops counting after two years, only richiami within that window can realistically be used this way. For the disciplinary procedure and threshold that actually governs a dismissal itself, see dismissal for just cause and dismissal in Italy.

Three worked scenarios

A properly issued richiamo for repeated lateness

An employee arrives late four times in one month. The employer sends a written contestazione describing the four specific dates and times, waits five full days, and only then issues a lettera di richiamo. The worker did not respond within the window. Because the procedure was followed and the conduct itself is not disputed, the richiamo stands.

A same day warning, procedurally defective

A supervisor, angry about a mistake on the shop floor, hands an employee a written richiamo the same afternoon, with no prior separate contestazione and no five day wait. The employee requests conciliazione within twenty days. Even though the employee does not dispute that the mistake happened, the sanction is annulled for the procedural failure alone, since art. 7 requires the contestazione and the five day wait regardless of how clear the underlying conduct is.

An old richiamo resurfacing

A worker received a richiamo three years ago for a minor process error. Now facing a new, unrelated disciplinary matter, the employer's contestazione cites the old richiamo as evidence of a pattern. Because more than two years have passed since the earlier sanction was applied, art. 7 bars the employer from taking it into account for any purpose in the new matter, including as an aggravating factor.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a lettera di richiamo?

It is a written disciplinary warning, the lightest formal sanction on Italy's statutory disciplinary ladder under art. 7, L. 300/1970, sitting above a purely verbal reprimand and below a multa, a sospensione, and dismissal.

Does my employer need to warn me before issuing a richiamo?

Yes. Before any sanction beyond a purely verbal warning, the employer must send a specific written contestazione of the alleged conduct and then wait at least five days before applying the sanction, giving the worker a real chance to respond.

Can I challenge a lettera di richiamo?

Yes. Within twenty days of the sanction being applied, you can request a conciliazione and arbitration board through the local labour office, and the sanction stays suspended while it is pending. You can also raise the matter with the giudice del lavoro.

How long does a richiamo stay on my record?

It stops counting for any purpose, including as an aggravating factor in a future disciplinary matter, two years after it was applied. This is not a deadline to challenge the sanction itself, only a limit on how long it can be used against you afterward.

Can a richiamo be cancelled even if I did what I was accused of?

Yes, if the procedure was not followed. A richiamo issued without a prior written contestazione, or before the mandatory five day wait, can be annulled for that procedural defect alone, regardless of whether the underlying conduct actually happened.

Can I be assisted by a union representative when responding to a richiamo?

Yes. Art. 7, L. 300/1970 lets a worker ask to be assisted by a representative of a union they belong to or have given a mandate to, before responding to the contestazione.

Can several lettere di richiamo lead to dismissal?

A single richiamo rarely ends employment on its own, but a documented pattern of them, within the two year window before they stop counting, can support a later giustificato motivo soggettivo or giusta causa dismissal. See our page on dismissal for just cause for that separate procedure.

What is the difference between a richiamo and a sospensione?

A richiamo is a written warning with no direct financial or working impact. A sospensione removes the worker from service and pay for up to ten days, and, like a richiamo, it must follow the same written contestazione and five day wait before it can be applied.