Not to invite any trouble for myself, but at one point, many among us have fabricated lies to take a leave. It could be calling it sick on a perfectly healthy day or citing a family emergency only to extend our weekend outings by at least one more day. Having acknowledged this, I’m pretty sure none of us is brave enough to dodge work for 20 FREAKIN YEARS in a career of 24 years.

I’m not kidding, people.

leave for 20 years italy teacher fired
Photo by Pixabay

Cinzina Paolina De Lio is a teacher from Italy who’s reportedly been dubbed the country’s worst employee. She was employed to teach literature and philosophy in a secondary school near Venice, but she showed up for only 4 out of her 24 years of tenure.

Throughout her tenure, the 56-year-old woman judiciously utilised sick leaves, holiday time, and permits for attending conferences to skip work, reports Mirror. Besides, complaints came rushing in on rare days when she showed up for work. It is reported her students once went on a strike after she was seen texting while conducting oral exams and marking them randomly.

Cinzina Paolina De Lio fired after 20 years leaves
World Magazine

Her ‘confused’ lessons caught the attention of school inspectors who accused her of improvising her lessons, reports The Times. She was finally sacked on June 22 this month.

This came to fruition after De Lio temporarily won back her job, having approached the court. Reportedly, in 2018, she was reinstated after a ruling by a Venice judge. However, last week, the country’s Supreme Court reversed the decision after an appeal by the education ministry.

The top court called her “permanently and absolutely unsuitable” for the job.

Italy secondary school teacher fired after 20 years leaves
Photo by Polina Tankilevitch

De Lino, now a freelance journalist, is displeased with the ruling and claims to possess documents to prove her side of the story. However, she reportedly told Repubblica Newspaper, “Sorry, but right now I’m at the beach.”

“I will reconstruct the truth of the facts of this absolutely unique and surreal story. I don’t answer questions from journalists thrown around that wouldn’t do justice to the truth of my story”, she added.