The Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) directed Twitter to provide a former executive in its Ireland division with compensation amounting to €550,000, setting a new record for an unjust dismissal case. The commission was informed that the former employee, deemed by the social media behemoth, currently identified as X, to have resigned, failed to agree to undisclosed new salary and terms in response to a one-day ultimatum email. The email originated from the enterprise’s new owner, Elon Musk, in November 2022.
In the ‘Fork In The Road’ email, Musk expressed to the workforce the requirement for dedication to accomplish the ambitious Twitter 2.0 in the face of stiff competition. He necessitated working to high standards for extended hours with outstanding performance as the only acceptable outcome.
The email contained a link that employees were obliged to affirm with a “yes” click. Any employee failing to do so by 5pm ET the following day would be eligible for a three-month severance package.
Despite the efforts of the claimant, Gary Rooney, to have him testify, Musk did not appear before the WRC. Lauren Wegman, Director of HR at Twitter, informed the WRC that out of 270 Ireland-based employees who received the email, 235 responded positively. According to Ms. Wegman, their compensation, as well as their roles, remained unaltered.
Based on the provided information, she didn’t believe any rational person would infer a pay cut.
However, Mr. Rooney contended that his employment was terminated by Twitter International Unlimited Company after his failure to confirm the email. Furthermore, after his termination, he claimed that the company declined to interact with him and his legal counsel.
Mr. Rooney’s legal team depicted accepting Twitter’s claim that neglecting to affirm amounted to a resignation as a fundamental shift in Irish employment law. Nevertheless, the company stood by the notion that Mr. Rooney consciously chose not to answer the email, knowing it would lead to his resignation.
In a comprehensive 73-page judgement, Michael MacNamee, a WRC adjudication officer, deduced that the cessation of Mr Rooney’s tenure was exclusively due to his failure to respond affirmatively to an email. Mr MacNamee determined that such omission to act could not be categorised as a formal resignation.
The WRC representative declared that while Mr Rooney remained ready for work, Twitter hindered his ability to perform his duties. MacNamee judged that Twitter accepting what was inappropriately deemed as Mr Rooney’s resignation was, in reality and legally, a termination.
He expressed that the dismissal was unjust, as there wasn’t any significant justification for the termination of Mr Rooney’s role. He also ascertained that Mr Rooney did not instigate or contribute towards his dismissal by his failure to respond affirmatively to the email.
MacNamee further stated that a 24-hour response timeframe for the email did not offer appropriate notice for an individual to come to a well-informed decision, even if HR support was easily accessible. He also highlighted that no employee should be criticised for resisting giving an unconditional consent to a proposal in such a scenario.
Mr MacNamee pointed out that Mr Musk’s email appeared to be an attempt to obtain agreement for a modification in the employment terms and conditions, or to solicit redundancy volunteers.
The WRC spent five days hearing evidence in the case between November 2023 and May 2024. Twitter rejected the claim that Mr Rooney was unjustly dismissed, arguing that he was entirely responsible for his dismissal due to his refusal to respond positively to Mr Musk’s email.
Mr Rooney was an employee of Twitter for more than nine years and held the position of “Source to Pay” director before he was determined to have resigned on November 18th, 2022. On December 7th, 2022, he received a draft severance contract amounting to €22,834 which was set to be retracted if not agreed to within a fortnight. His official termination occurred on December 18th, 2022. At the time of his dismissal, Mr Rooney had a total compensation package of €369,937, incorporating a basic wage of €137,000 and a performance-related bonus of 30 per cent.
After being let go from Twitter, Mr Rooney struggled to secure an equally valuable role until eventually finding employment with a bank in September 2023, earning a total of €129,897, including a base salary of €104,500. His legal representation argued that he was due the highest payable sum of two years’ salary, citing his total losses of €739,874 as surpassing the legal limit of claimable damages for unfair dismissal.
Presiding over the case, Mr MacNamee ordered Twitter to compensate Mr Rooney a total of €550,131 for his unfair dismissal. This figure was derived with €200,000 factored in for potential future earning losses. A separate claim by Mr Rooney, suggesting he had a right to a 2022 performance bonus, was rejected by the WRC on the grounds of it being found to lack sufficient evidence or reasoning.
The title of the highest unsettled dismissal claim awarded by the WRC was formerly held by a case against tech company Hyph Ireland (formerly Xhail Ireland), who were instructed to pay €440,000 to Mick Kiely, a musician, composer and entrepreneur, unjustly removed from his CEO position in 2021.
The record compensation sum of €1.25 million, however, was granted to former RSA Insurance CEO Philip Smith by the WRC’s predecessor, the Employment Appeals Tribunal in 2015.