A judge has denied interim pay relief for a group of former Rockstar Games employees who were dismissed from its UK studios. The workers, who claim they were sacked for attempting to unionize, had sought continued pay until their legal case concluded. The tribunal in Glasgow stated it could not grant interim relief because it was not confident the case would succeed at a full hearing.
Dismissals and Legal Action
Rockstar Games dismissed 29 employees from its Edinburgh, Dundee, and Lincoln offices on October 30 and 31 last year. The company cited gross misconduct, specifically sharing confidential information on a public server within the Discord chat app, as the reason for their termination. All dismissed employees were members of the Independent Workers Union of Great Britain (IWGB) game worker's branch.
The judge noted that some sacked individuals had posted few messages on the server, with some last posting over a year prior to their dismissal. There was no evidence presented that Rockstar Games suffered adverse consequences from these postings. Employees were informed of their dismissals rapidly, without suspensions, disciplinary hearings, or prior opportunity to respond to allegations. The specific comments deemed gross misconduct were not disclosed to staff until approximately six weeks after their termination.
Judge's Ruling and Company/Union Statements
Judge Frances Eccles concluded that it was not possible to determine if union membership was the "principal reason" for the dismissals. Rockstar's lawyers stated the company denied knowledge of employees' paid union membership and also dismissed three Canadian employees not affiliated with the IWGB. They cited "issues of urgency and ongoing confidentiality concerns" as factors in the speed of the dismissals.
IWGB president Alex Marshall commented that securing interim relief has a high threshold, expressing confidence that a full tribunal would find Rockstar's actions unlawful. A Rockstar spokesperson welcomed the judge's decision, reiterating their stance on the necessity of the dismissals and that the outcome supported their course of action.