The Labour Court has scheduled a three-day hearing at the end of July, where it will hear an appeal from Elon Musk’s company, X, against a ruling that it must pay a record-breaking unfair dismissal award of €550,131 to an ex-employee.
The initial ruling took place last August, when the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) found that the ex-employee, former Director of Source to Pay, had been unfairly dismissed by Twitter when he failed to reply to Elon Musk’s ‘Fork in the Road’ email.
The ‘Fork in the Road’ email was sent to Twitter employees in November 2022, detailing an “extremely hardcore” Twitter 2.0 which would involve long hours, high intensity, and a need for exceptional performance. Employees were asked to click “yes” in response to the email if they wished to be part of the ‘new Twitter’.
When the employee in this case opted not to click “yes”, he received a second email from the company "to acknowledge your decision to resign and accept the voluntary separation offer". The employee then emailed his employer saying, “at no time have I indicated to Twitter that I am resigning my position, nor have I seen any separation agreement let alone accepted one”.
In the WRC ruling last August, the adjudicator in the case found that Twitter International UC (now known as X Internet Unlimited Company) unfairly dismissed the employee, and awarded a record-breaking €550,131 in damages.
This high-profile case is a stark reminder of the serious financial consequences associated with non-compliance. It is imperative that employers, no matter how big or small the company, abide by Irish employment legislation and navigate the dismissal process with extreme care.
To avoid the legal, financial and reputational damage caused by a WRC case, employers should use this story as an opportunity to review their dismissal policies and disciplinary procedures. It is also crucial to keep detailed and comprehensive records, and to stay on top of any changes to Irish employment legislation.