Dozens of former Twitter employees in the UK are preparing to bring legal action against the tech giant for unfair dismissal.
A letter seen by the Financial Times was sent to Twitter on 10 January by law firm Winckworth Sherwood on behalf of 43 former Twitter employees, claiming “unlawful, unfair and completely unacceptable treatment” to former UK employees as part of a “sham redundancy process”.
The former staff are claiming their dismissals, which took place after Elon Musk acquired the company in October 2022, were unlawful and included unacceptable severance terms.
According to Winckworth, UK Twitter employees who were dismissed were offered two months of gross basic salary plus an additional two weeks of gross basic salary for each year of service. The firm also contends that Twitter unlawfully terminated employees by denying them access to laptops and offices on the day that layoffs were announced, before attempting to retroactively implement a proper redundancy process.
The matter may be taken before an employment tribunal if no settlement is reached.
Under UK employment law, redundancies of more than 100 individuals require a 45-day consultation period, during which terms may be negotiated.
This is the latest labour-related challenge facing Twitter following Musk’s buy-out of the company.
Author
Gill Laing is a qualified Legal Researcher & Analyst with niche specialisms in Law, Tax, Human Resources, Immigration & Employment Law.
Gill is a Multiple Business Owner and the Managing Director of Prof Services - a Marketing Agency for the Professional Services Sector.
