In a new report, it has been revealed that a UK judge has outright denied the 31 fired Rockstar employees interim pay while they tussle with the firm and Take-Two over what they claim was an unfair dismissal. Last year, 31 employees in the United Kingdom were fired from Rockstar Games in one sweep, with the gaming titan claiming that they were leaking confidential information.
Following the sweep, it emerged that Rockstar may have been fighting back against unionization, targeting employees who joined the IWGB union in the United Kingdom. Rockstar has categorically denied these claims.
Rockstar’s Dismissed Devs Won’t Get Pay
In a recent Bloomberg report, it was stated that the UK’s Judge Frances Eccles had denied a plea for interim pay for the 31 former Rockstar Games developers. This interim pay would have allowed these employees to jump back on the company’s payroll while the situation with the mass dismissal was being handled through legal channels.
It was stated by the judge that the fired employees could not demonstrate their case enough to have a ‘pretty good chance of success’ at proving they were dismissed in a union-busting effort.
The judge wrote:
In all the circumstances, the tribunal was unable to conclude that it appears likely that the tribunal will find that the principal reason for the claimants’ dismissal was their membership of the IWGB.
This means that it’s unlikely that the dismissed employees will have the court weigh in their favor over the union-busting allegations. It’s another angle of support for Rockstar’s suggestion that the employees were leaking confidential information.
Days ago, Rockstar claimed that the employees were dismissed because they were leaking information about ‘upcoming and unannounced titles’ to influencers on social channels, including a Discord server.
That server has become the biggest point of contention. The company explained that 25 non-Rockstar employees, including former workers, competing developers, and even a video game journalist, were in that server. This gave them unimpeded access to critical information about Grand Theft Auto 6 and other games.
The court’s ruling now locks these former employees out of any pay while they attempt to resolve the situation with Rockstar Games.
Do you think this ruling is fair? Let us know what you’re thinking on the Insider Gaming Discord server.
For more Insider Gaming coverage, check out the news that Paramount has sued Netflix over the Warner Bros. deal
Grant has been gaming for 30+ years and in the industry for 10+. You'll probably find him playing a post-apocalyptic game or an extraction shooter somewhere.
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