Exclusive: Evolution accelerates NetEnt redundancy timetable

Evolution has given former NetEnt employees less than a week to accept or refuse severance pay packages as part of an accelerated redundancy timetable, EGR can exclusively reveal. Affected employees were provided with letters outlining available severance pay packages on Monday, with a proviso to confirm their desired choice no later than 10 December. EGR understands two redundancy options have been provided. The first is based on employees receiving a one-off ex-gratia payment to resign from the business before the traditional one-month notice period, while forfeiting all entitlements to future benefits and payments. Under this resignation package, employees would receive a one-off ex-gratia payment plus their normal working pay up to 10 December, as well as an additional one-off notice period payment. The second redundancy package would see employees receive normal pay until 31 December, but no ex-gratia or notice period payments. All payments are calculated based on employee length of service. One ex-NetEnt employee described option one as “a very restrictive resignation package”. Details of the redundancy packages come less than 24 hours after Malta’s General Workers Union (GWU) launched industrial dispute proceedings against Evolution over the proposed redundancies, claiming it had not been consulted as part of the process. One potential reason for lack of consultation is the acquisition timeline, as Evolution only became de facto owners of NetEnt on 23 November, less than a week before the redundancies were announced. EGR understands several former NetEnt staff members have delayed selecting a redundancy option, pending potential intervention by the GWU.