No sickness compensation or disability recognition for workers who happen to be injured during the coffee break during working hours, even if they have permission from the boss to go to the bar outside the office.

This was established by the Supreme Court, which accepted Inail's appeal against compensation and disability of 10% in favor of an employee of the Florence Public Prosecutor's Office who broke her wrist falling on the street while, authorized, she went out for a coffee break .

In fact, the judges established coffee, “is a free choice and not an urgent need linked to work”.

For this reason, according to the ruling of the Supreme Court, anyone who faces a risk "arising from an arbitrary choice driven by impulses, and deliberately creates and addresses a situation different from that inherent in the 'working activity".

Therefore, continues the verdict of the Supreme Court, "the indemnification" of the accident "suffered by the worker during the break outside the judicial office where she worked and along the path followed to go to the bar for a coffee is to be excluded. , given that by moving away from the office to reach a nearby public establishment, she voluntarily exposed herself to a risk not necessarily connected to her working activity for the satisfaction of a need that can certainly be postponed and not urgent ".

Rosanna, this is the name of the employee, had won in the first and second instance before the Court and Court of Appeal of Florence and obtained from Inail the absolute temporary sickness allowance and the compensation. Now, 11 years after the events, which took place in 2010, she lost her right to compensation and was sentenced to pay 5,300 euros in legal and justice costs.

(Unioneonline / L)