The new broom sweeps clean: Musk’s redundancies will need to comply with Irish employment law

Last updated: November 10th, 2022

Elon Musk hasn’t wasted making changes at Twitter, with him making approximately half of the company’s global workforce redundant. While labour laws in the US don’t provide employees with much protection when it comes to terminating a contract of employment, Ireland-based staff enjoy a range of rights under Unfair Dismissals and Redundancy Payments legislation.

Moira Grassick, COO at Graphite, explains the rights that employees have under Irish employment law.

“It has been widely reported that Twitter staff received emails on Friday letting them know that their positions are being made redundant. While this direct approach is a way for the new owner to demonstrate that the company is moving in a different direction, any employees working in the Irish office facing redundancy could seek to enforce their rights under Irish and EU law if the relevant procedures are not followed prior to terminating their employment contract.”

Unfair selection

Given the sudden nature of these job cuts, employees are likely to query why they have been selected for redundancy. In a typical redundancy situation, the employer would need to be able to demonstrate that they used a fair and objective selection process to determine which employees to let go. This would include supporting paperwork recording why certain employees were selected for redundancy over others.

Employee consultation obligations

Redundancy proposals should include a consultation procedure to allow those employees who are at risk of redundancy to participate in the process and suggest possible alternatives to redundancies.

Collective redundancy procedures

If reports are true, the scale of these redundancies also bring it within the scope of the collective redundancy protections set out in the Protection of Employment Acts. As the thresholds that trigger collective redundancy protection look likely to be exceeded, Twitter will need to consider if they have complied with the obligations:

  • to engage in an information and consultation process with employees’ representatives, and
  • to notify the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment of the proposed collective redundancy.

Employers are prohibited from issuing any notice of redundancy during the mandatory employee information and consultation period and until 30 days have elapsed from the date on which the Minister has been notified.

A big statement but a lot of loose ends

Without knowing the exact make up of the workforce in Twitter’s Dublin office and the precise details of the redundancies, it is difficult to predict how much employment compliance will interfere with Musk’s plans to reduce the workforce.

For example, many tech workers operating under contracts for service are not afforded same rights as employees working under a contract of employment. Other employees may not have the required period of service to benefit from the protections set out in the Unfair Dismissals and Redundancy Payments legislation.

A botched redundancy process can expose a company to significant financial downsides. If an employee succeeds with an unfair dismissal claim, they may receive up to two years’ gross salary in compensation.

There is also the reputational damage that comes with a badly managed redundancy process. Any subsequent claims by employees and negative experiences have the potential to negatively impact on the reputation of a business.

Likewise, a poorly handled redundancy process risks alienating remaining employees. It may prove difficult to foster a positive working environment with these employees if they feel that colleagues have been treated unfairly or fear for their future down the line.

This is a difficult time for Twitter employees. It seems possible that many of them will seek legal advice if their employment rights are not upheld by the tech giant.

If you have questions about redundancy procedures, speak to one of our experts on (01) 886 0350 or request a callback here.

Book a call with a consultant

Complete the form below and a consultant will call you as soon as possible.

Book a call with a consultant

Complete the form below and a consultant will call you as soon as possible.

Latest Resources

St Patrick’s Day: Have you prepared for absenteeism?

Published: March 20th 2024 Following national celebrations and public holidays like St Patrick’s day, you could find yourself down several staff members. And – as […]

What Employees Are Entitled to a Public Holiday Benefit & How Are Benefits Calculated?

public holiday
Published: March 20th 2024 From Easter Monday to St Patrick’s Day, Ireland gets ten public holidays and, with them, public holiday benefits. But what if […]

What happens when workplace romances go wrong

workplace romances gone wrong
First published: February 14th 2024 Last updated: February 14th 2024 Love makes the world go round, or so they say. But what effect does love […]

Olga Shevchenko

Director/Advocate, Immigration Advice Bureau

Olga Shevchenko specialises in immigration advocacy and consultancy, in particular, employment permit, visas, family reunification, citizenship, etc, for those seeking to visit, reside or invest in Ireland.

Olga provides extensive information, knowledge, and support to her clients, enabling access to positive solutions for people struggling to handle the immigration law.

Minister Neale Richmond

Minister of State, Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment

Neale Richmond TD was appointed as Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment with special responsibility for Employment Affairs and Retail Business and the Department of Social Protection in January 2023.

Much of his work at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment is with businesses, workers, their representative bodies and the State Agencies to ensure that the economic recovery and growth extends to all parts of the country. He works closely with the SME sector, including retail, on building resilience and on the transition to the green and digital economies.

Mark Carpenter

Director of Regulatory & Corporate Affairs, Sky

Mark Carpenter is Director of Regulatory & Corporate Affairs at Sky Ireland. In this role he has responsibility for External and Internal Communications, Public Policy and Regulatory Affairs and the company’s ‘Bigger Picture’ (CSR) programme. He also works closely with Sky Group teams on a variety of matters, in particular our partnerships with domestic broadcasters.

Prior to working at Sky, Mark worked as a Policy Officer in Houses of the Oireachtas and as a Management Consultant at Accenture. He has a BA in History from Oxford University and a PhD in Political Science from Trinity College Dublin.

Nora Cashe

Litigation and Compliance Manager, Peninsula

Nóra studied Law in Griffith College Dublin and qualified as a Barrister in 2008, practising in the area of Criminal law. She is also member of the Irish Employment Law Association.

Nora has extensive experience representing clients at Employment Tribunal hearings, Conciliation / Mediation meetings before both the Workplace Relations Commission and the Labour Court. 

Nóra is a member of the Irish Employment Law Association and engages with the WRC Adjudication Service as part of their stakeholder engagement forum.

Deiric McCann

Managing Director, Genos International Europe

Deiric McCann leads Genos International Europe – The EU division of a world-leading provider of emotional intelligence solutions. 

With over two decades experience at the highest levels of management, Deiric supports clients to develop the resilience, emotional intelligence, psychological safety and engagements of their employees.

Rhiannon Coyne

Senior HR Consultant, Graphite HRM

Rhiannon Coyne is a Senior HR Consultant at Graphite HRM and will be providing an overview of best practice on how to deal with complaints of bullying and harassment in the workplace. 

With a number of recent updates to employment laws, Rhiannon will take a closer look at employment equality and how it is interlinked to Health & Safety and what employers can learn from recent case laws.

David Begg

Chairman, Workplace Relations Commission

David Begg was appointed Chairperson of the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) in January 2021.

David is also a professor at Maynooth University Institute of Social Sciences. Mr Begg’s extensive history in the trade union movement included leading the ESB Officers Association and Irish Congress of Trade Unions, stepping away from the latter in 2001 to chair international aid agency Concern.

David Begg was also previously a director of the Central Bank of Ireland between 1995 and 2010.