The business secretary, Grant Shapps, has written to Twitter to ensure it is complying with UK law after the US company’s new owner, Elon Musk, announced that hundreds of its British staff would be fired.
Musk took control of the social media platform at the end of October, and within days launched deep job cuts, with as many as 3,700 redundancies expected worldwide.
In the UK, employers are required to launch a collective consultation if they plan to make more than 20 redundancies, as well as consulting individuals.
It is thought that hundreds of staff have been locked out of the company systems in Twitter’s British operations, meaning it is very likely to meet the hurdle required for a consultation.
Shapps told the Prospect union in a letter on Thursday that he would write to Twitter to “seek reassurance that they will be following all relevant statutory requirements”.
“I absolutely agree with you that no company is above the law,” Shapps wrote in response to concerns raised by Prospect, which represents some workers at Twitter. “It must be a very worrying time for the staff and their families,” he wrote. The business department later confirmed that a letter had been sent to Twitter.
The social media company is already facing legal action in the US over the speed at which Musk launched the mass firings, locking workers out of company systems before they had been told they would lose their jobs. Unions have raised concerns about its adherence to employment law in Ireland...
Supreme Court has directed all States to probe motor vehicle insurance claims after it was found that fraudulent methods are being employed to cheat insurance firms. Make Us Your Preferred Sourc...