"The main problem is that [bonuses and progression are] all completely discretionary for the company, and they are under no obligation to show their working.
Employees want good pay, and if literally anything they do that year could affect it, they will naturally feel they have to be as pliable as possible to their boss's whims," the worker continued.
Gender Pay Gap and Overtime Allegations
The union also reported that the median gender pay gap at Rockstar has widened in recent years after previous remediation initiatives were discontinued.
Furthermore, nightshift workers reportedly lost extra benefits intended to offset unsociable hours, while leadership retains remote working flexibility that was revoked for standard staff.
"There are those [within Rockstar and Take-Two] with hundreds of millions of pounds, there are those receiving excellent pay for their work and are grateful, and there are certainly those that are woefully underpaid for their effort and the incredible profits gained.
Especially when you consider that the company gets hundreds of millions in tax breaks for [its] UK workers," said an anonymous employee.
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The workforce also challenged the studio's approach to overtime, alleging that Rockstar normalizes crunch by automatically embedding a UK Working Time Regulations opt-out clause into standard employment contracts.
"Crunch is prevalent enough that the company built into our contracts, as standard, an opt out of the Working Time Regulations [a UK employment right that can be voluntarily relinquished by employees] that stops your employer being able to ask you to do more than about 10 hours extra each week," explained a source.
