A rogue teacher who avoided doing any actual work for 20 years has finally been sacked. Cinzio Paolina De Lio was branded ‘the worst employee in Italy’ by her former secondary school.
The 56-year-old had been hired to teach literature and philosophy 24 years ago - but only showed up to teach her students during four of them.
The Mirror reports that she spent the rest of her time creatively using sick leave, holidays and permits to attend conferences to dodge doing any work.
On the occasions she did turn up, it is reported that her students boycotted her lessons due to her laissez-faire teaching style.
They accused her of texting during their exams, not having a copy of the textbook she should be teaching and borrowing theirs instead while also dishing out grades at random.
But De Lio's charade came crashing down during a seemingly routine school inspection, The Times reported.
During one of her rare appearances at work, inspectors said her lessons were confused and she had improvised before she was finally fired on June 22 this year, according to Italian media.
However, this came after she took her school to court and briefly won her job back - before revelations about her working habits emerged and the court quickly reversed its decision.
The Italian Supreme Court blasted her "permanently and absolutely unsuitable" for the job of a teacher despite her claims to having three degrees.
She was also branded the "worst employee in Italy" by her secondary school near Venice. When journalists approached De Lio for comment she refused as she was at the beach.
Shockingly, De Lio isn't the only employee accused of cutting corners for their job in Italy.
It was reported the public health worker Salvatore Scumace, 66, cost the Italian state over £460,000 after he claimed to work as a fire safety officer at a hospital for 15 years.
He was only seen in the hospital once - on the day he signed his contract.
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