The long-running dispute between the principal and a teacher at the Francesco De Sanctis high school in Sant'Angelo dei Lombardi, a small town in the province of Avellino, has reached a critical point. The Regional Administrative Court of Lazio has rejected the appeal filed by the school principal who contested a fine of 5 thousand euros imposed on him by the National Anti-Corruption Authority (Anac) for a series of reprisals against the teacher in question. The story began on June 3, 2022, when the teacher, in permanent service, said she had been the victim of revenge by the principal for reporting a series of alleged offenses within the school.
Teacher's reports against the principal
In fact, in the previous months, the teacher had accused the manager of improper behavior and non-transparent management of resources. Specifically, he had denounced the non-publication of crucial documents, such as the minutes of the meetings of the Pedagogical Council and the Institute Council, thus violating the rules of transparency. The teacher then criticized the management of the surveillance cameras outside the school: although they had been correctly installed, they had not been officially registered and the donation received for the operation had not been formally accepted by the Institute Council. The teacher's accusations also concerned the selection of the digital animator (the teacher who guides digital innovation within the school premises) which, according to what the teacher reported, had taken place without the necessary involvement of the teaching staff. To report these irregularities, the teacher had contacted the Regional School Office of Campania, the Public Prosecutor's Office and the Public Prosecutor's Office of the Court of Auditors of Naples.
The manager's revenge
This is when the story takes a delicate turn. In response to the complaints received, the principal begins to take revenge by launching a series of disciplinary procedures against the teacher, some of which have resulted in sanctions. Among the accusations made by the principal are inappropriate behavior on the part of the teacher, such as sending emails during working hours and other violations that the principal considers detrimental to the dignity of colleagues. But the teacher does not give up and decides to report the situation to ANAC, stating that she is a victim of retaliation. A few months later, around the first week of October 2022, Anac – the agency responsible for combating illegality and corruption and ensuring transparency – requests additional documents from the teacher to assess the possibility of initiating a sanction procedure against the leader. Within days, the teacher provided the requested documents and ANAC officially opened an investigation. Among the material sent, there is also an audio in which the manager can be heard proposing to the teacher to withdraw her complaints in exchange for the cancellation of the sanctions against her.
Anac controls manager's retaliation
At the beginning of the investigation, ANAC also requested a series of written clarifications from the manager, who however requested an extension and thus had more time to present the documents in question. However, the request was rejected by the institution. On the merits, the manager defends himself and maintains that his sanctions were indeed correct and were not retaliation because they were based on third-party reports. And he states that the reports made by the teacher cannot be protected by the rules on whistleblowers (those who report illicit activities), specifying that the teacher's reports were made in her capacity as a union representative and not as a whistleblower. However, these arguments do not convince Anac, which leaves the manager with a dry mouth, recognizing the teacher as a whistleblower and having suffered reprisals. Her complaints, submitted to the public prosecutor's office and the Court of Auditors in May 2022 and signed by herself, guarantee her this protection. Anac therefore considered that the grounds for the disciplinary sanctions applied by the director were specious, disproportionate and aimed exclusively at penalising the teacher. A striking example is that of a sanction imposed for alleged incorrect behaviour at school on a day when the teacher was on leave. Not to mention that the manager did not provide sufficient evidence to prove otherwise. Hence the fine of 5 thousand euros paid by the client.
The manager's appeal (rejected)
The manager then decided to appeal the Anac decision by submitting a reasoned appeal on four grounds. First, he claims that Anac's refusal to grant an additional period for the submission of the documents would have violated constitutional principles. Second, he specifies that the teacher's reports were made in her capacity as a union representative and not as a whistleblower. Third, he disputes that the teacher's reports were not followed up. For its part, ANAC rejects the manager's arguments, strongly defending its position and confirming that the sanctions imposed on the teacher were retaliation, regardless of the outcome of the reports. In addition, it points out that the audio evidence, in which the manager appeared to offer to cancel the sanctions in exchange for the withdrawal of the complaints, constituted further confirmation of his intentions of retaliation, although the manager justified his remarks as an attempt to restore peaceful relations. The Regional Administrative Court of Lazio, after examining the appeal, decided to reject it, confirming that Anac's decision was correct and well-reasoned. It therefore established that the protection of whistleblowers also applies when reports are submitted with the assistance of a trade union and confirmed the fine of 5,000 euros to be paid by the manager in the event of retaliatory behavior.
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