MUSK ‘LONGER HOURS OR LEAVE’ – LEGAL COMMENT

Rebecca Thornley-Gibson, a partner at city law firm DMH Stallard and employment law specialist, said:

“In the latest approach to ripping up the employee engagement rulebook by Elon Musk, Twitter employees have been offered 3 months’ pay to leave if they don’t sign up for the new Twitter regime of ‘working long hours at high intensity’.

“The alternative to signing up to the long hours culture appears to be an end to their employment.

“Smart employees in the UK may take the 3 months’ severance if they don’t have to sign up to a settlement agreement waiving their rights to make claims against Twitter.

“They could then challenge the ultimatum approach taken on a number of grounds, including the unreasonable timeframe to make a decision about their future employment, the uncertainty of terms in respect of their working hours and a bullish approach to Working Time Regulations and employer

health and safety duties linked to working hours.

“Although the current Twitter approach to changing employment terms will lead to tribunal claims, the longer lasting and more damaging impact will

be on employee retention and recruitment of key individuals.”