UK Twitter employees legal threat over redundancies

Twitter’s treatment of employees facing redundancy is “unlawful, unfair and completely unacceptable”, a legal letter seen by BBC News says.

Sent on behalf of 43 employees, the letter, written by solicitors Winckworth Sherwood, accuses Twitter of failing to meet its legal obligations.

In particular, it is claimed, the company failed to meaningfully consult over the job losses.

BBC News has approached Twitter for comment.

The letter says the employees represent roughly a quarter of those in the UK affected by cuts Twitter announced in November.

The Financial Times, which first reported the contents of the letter, said the Prospect union had also written to the platform on Monday raising similar concerns and urging a halt to the redundancy process.

The letter calls the redundancy process a “sham”.

A central concern is an alleged failure to follow UK rules, which require a consultation period of 45 days if 100 or more jobs are to be cut.

The current consultation, the letter argues, was entered into retrospectively – after Twitter had already decided who would be made redundant.

This, the letter alleges, was demonstrated by its introducing the consultation process after the “abrupt removal from its premises and systems” of affected staff.

It also accuses the platform of not being clear about the selection criteria it would used to decide who would be made redundant.

The employees may launch cases at an employment tribunal “if they are dismissed on the terms presently presented to them”, the letter adds.

Twitter is also facing legal challenges from employees in the US unhappy with the manner of their redundancy and the severance terms offered, lawyers say.