Employees cannot be sacked for watching porn during their lunch breaks if it does not impact upon their ability to do their work, Italy’s highest court has ruled.

According to Italian media reports, the Court of Cassation ruled against major car manufacturer Fiat after it sacked a factory worker in Termini Imerese, a town in Sicily.

Bosses had caught the man watching adult films at work, but he argued that his viewing was limited to “catching a glimpse of a movie during his lunch break”.

But it wasn’t all bad news for Fiat, as in a separate ruling on Wednesday the court found the carmaker was within its rights to sack a man caught smoking cannabis during his lunch break – presumably because its effects continued into his working hours.

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The porn ruling at the Court of Cassation marked the end of a five-year legal battle for the man, identified as Guiseppe Z, whose dismissal was supported by the local court in Termini Imerese.

That was overturned by the court of appeal in Palermo, however, prompting Fiat to take the issue to the highest level.