Ireland’s Workplace Relations Commission has asked X (formerly Twitter) to pay ?5 crore to Gary Rooney, an employee whose dismissal by the social-media platform was deemed unfair.
Rooney, as per media reports, was employed with Twitter in Ireland, since 2013. He was reportedly serving as source-to-pay director.
In November 2022, post Elon Musk taking over the platform, Musk wrote to the employees demanding that they be prepared to put in long hours and work really hard. The mail implied that those who were not ready to give their all should leave with a three months’ severance pay. Employees were allowed one day to think over the option and click ‘yes’ on the link provided in the e-mail. Of course, by clicking ‘yes’ employees would have indicated their willingness to abide by the ‘demanding’ schedules that Musk had talked about.
Since Rooney had not clicked on ‘Yes’, the company assumed that he had resigned. Rooney claimed that he was just too scared to click on the given link thinking it was some kind of malware, and that he had not resigned.
The Irish Workplace Relations Commission, however, maintained that it wasn’t fair for Musk or any employer to treat employees in this way. Therefore, the Commission ordered X to compensate Rooney with a sum of €5,50,000, that is, about Rs 5 crore for his unfair termination.
As per the Commission, it is not easy for any individual to take such a big decision about their future in merely a day’s time. Employees need to be given adequate time to weigh the pros and cons of such a decision, especially when their company has just been taken over by another firm. An employee choosing not to say ‘yes’, cannot be taken to mean that they had resigned.
