We have been advising a significant number of employees at Twitter UK, following the abrupt decision made in early November 2022 to exclude a substantial portion of its UK workforce from its IT systems and premises and then place them at risk of redundancy which came as an immense shock to many of those affected.
Whilst such drastic action has been taken by many commentators to mean that the affected individuals have already been dismissed, this is not the case. Our clients continue to be employees of Twitter UK, with all of the rights which that entails, including the right to a fair and meaningful consultation process before any final decision is taken to dismiss them and end their employment.
There are strict UK legal obligations that Twitter is required to comply with when so many of its UK workforce are facing redundancy. If it can be shown that Twitter has failed to act fairly and legally and has not complied with its redundancy obligations, it will be exposed to potentially significant liabilities, consisting of not only unfair dismissal compensation awards but a further penalty of up to 90 days’ gross pay for each employee with whom it has breached these strict obligations to consult properly. In view of the numbers involved, this could run to a very significant sum.
The team, consisting of Jo Keddie (Senior Partner and Head of Employment and Partnerships), Daniel Parker (Employment Associate) and Beth Hamilton (Employment Solicitor), will continue to work closely with and support our clients in the coming weeks – many of whom have been with Twitter for several years and have unblemished employment records – working with them to assert their statutory employment rights and ensure accountability for Twitter’s decision making.
Coverage of our involvement in these ongoing proceedings has included: The BBC, The Telegraph, The Financial Times, The Guardian, Business Insider, HR Magazine, CNN & Bloomberg.