Just Eat boss urged to 'think before' tweeting

The boss of Just Eat has been encouraged to stop using social media platforms to antagonise his rivals and to “think before” tweeting, after a Twitter spat broke about between the delivery service’s founder and Uber’s boss.

The argument online has prompted investor Cat Rock Capital, who has a 4.2 percent stake in Just Eat, to accuse Just Eat’s chief executive Jitse Groen of presiding over a “disaster” in communications, reported This Is Money.

This comes after Groen accused competitors including Uber of failing to pay tax and having “irrational business models”.

However, Uber boss Dara Khosrowshahi clapped back on the social media site, telling Groen to “pay a little less attention to your short-term stock price and more attention to your tech and ops”.

Thank you for the advice, and then if I may .. Start paying taxes, minimum wage and social security premiums before giving a founder advice on how he should run his business.

— Jitse Groen (@jitsegroen)

Thank you for the advice, and then if I may .. Start paying taxes, minimum wage and social security premiums before giving a founder advice on how he should run his business.

— Jitse Groen (@jitsegroen) April 21, 2021

Following the spat, Cat Rock Capital shared that the tweets online are an example of outbursts that have damaged the brand.

The investor added that Groen’s tweets had partly led to the business being “deeply undervalued and vulnerable to takeover bids at far below its intrinsic value,” reported the Guardian.

This isn’t the first time Groen has come under fire for his tweets, as earlier this year the Just Eat boss unleashed a rant on financial analysts where he claimed that “some can’t even do basic maths”.

‘Think before they tweet’

Many employers put in place social media policies to ensure employees are aware of the repercussions if they use such platforms inappropriately. However, based on the Twitter spat between two bosses, should these policies be more targeted towards senior members of staff?

Suzanne Staunton, employment partner at JMW Solicitors, explained to Reward Strategy that while directors and employees have a right to do as they wish outside of work hours, “it is fair for an employer to warn their directors and employees to “think before they tweet”.”

She added that the best way to do this is to introduce a social media policy, or a disciplinary policy. “This is because offensive, threatening, or obscene tweets can bring the company or profession into disrepute,” she added.

Philosophical beliefs

Staunton warned however that employers should be “careful” before they impose a disciplinary sanction for anything shared on social media as tweets for example can be a manifestation of an employee and director’s philosophical belief.

She explained: “Philosophical belief is a protected characteristic, and such action could lead to the employee or director bringing a claim for direct discrimination.

“Whether or not views amount to a philosophical belief is very complex, so employers may wish to take legal advice before taking any action. It may be possible to fairly take disciplinary action if the way the philosophical belief has been manifested is intentionally highly offensive, or vitriolic.”