Can Elon Musk set fire to all of Twitter France overnight?
As in the United States, Twitter France is facing radical decisions by Elon Musk. But on this side of the Atlantic, it is not possible to do everything and anything.
Is Twitter about to disappear from the web? The question may arise as to how Elon Musk manages his new property, with orientations similar to decisions taken on a whim. But it’s a question many Twitter employees may not be asking, now that they’ve been fired without notice.
How about Twitter France? In a message published on November 20, the boss of Twitter France, Damien Viel, published a clear message : ” Finished. Pride, honor and mission accomplished. Goodbye Twitter France. What a trip! Which team! What encounters! Thank you all for these 7 incredible and intense years. »
However, Twitter France is still active. According to BFM-TV, some of the teams are still in place. So far, only communication service has been lost. The whole question is whether it will last and, if so, how Twitter’s management in the United States will take care of its various subsidiaries around the world.
Can you license by email?
But certainly, as in the United States, it appears that the headquarters of Twitter also choose for e-mail dismissals to remove employees based in Europe. Except that there are differences in labor law between the two coasts of the continent. In particular, it is impossible to dismiss people by e-mail, let alone without reason.
The circumstances under which these layoffs affect Twitter’s European teams are unclear. Ditto for the content of emails — does it contain a common message? An economic reason to justify a degreasing? A fault allegedly committed by the employee?
However, this is an opportunity to remember the state of the law in France.
In the case of dismissal, email cannot be used as the only medium for dismissing staff. In any case, if the staff is actually bound by a private law employment contract governed by French law. In this case, dismissal by email is illegal. However, the answer may be different, or at least more complicated, if these are not French contracts.
If an email of this type is still used, it is invalid first because the adherence to the procedure given by the texts is absent. Moreover, if the email does not contain a reason for dismissal. This fact was confirmed by the human resources director of the Humanoid group, to which Numerama belongs, but also the official site of the French administration.
Thus, the employer must summon the employee to a preliminary interview and send him a letter of dismissal, if his decision is made. In it, he can state the reason for dismissal, on his own initiative or at the request of the employee. This one benefits from a notice, except for serious or gross negligence – which, in the case of Twitter, does not seem to be the main scenario.
Notice periods must be respected
In case of fault, says Humanoid’s HR department, ” the punishment chosen must be proportionate “. And you always have to respect notice periods “. As for the hypothesis of a dismissal for economic reasons, it is also necessary to respect another procedure, he pointed out. Procedure in which the management of Twitter must submit if the contracts are indeed under the law of France.
And if Elon Musk ignores, it means not going through all the necessary steps (summons, time to prepare for interview, interview, reflection period and notification)? Can an employee still consider themselves a Twitter member? In any case, he has the possibility to assert his rights by asking the Labor Court to rule on the legality of the dismissal. But these steps can be long; even the employee has almost every chance to win, and get financial compensation.
It remains to be seen whether the European staff of Twitter will respond to the maneuvers of Elon Musk, who has been accused of thinking that Twitter is a purely American entity when it has effects and structures around the world. Someone even announced that” pending legal proceedings “.
