P&O Ferries Boss Says No Offence Was CommItted When Sacking 800 Staff With No Notice
P&O Ferries announced a huge compensation package for sacked workers, but it's unlikely to turn the tide of public opinion
The boss at P&O Ferries, who sacked 800 members of staff the other day without any notice, says that no offence was committed, and claims they're offering a huge compensation package to those who have been laid off.
The mass sacking caused outrage amongst MPs and the public and has sparked a debate about whether the UK's employment laws are fit for purpose.
However, P&O Ferries chief executive Peter Hebblethwaite says that all the vessels that were involved are registered outside the UK and that the relevant authorities were notified.
Writing to Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng yesterday, Hebblethwaite said that 'very clear statutory obligation in the particular circumstances that applied was for each company to notify the competent authority of the state where the vessel is registered'.
He added that notification to the relevant authorities was made on March 17 and no offence was committed with regard to notifying the UK Secretary of State.
He did add that the firm is 'painfully aware' of the 'distress' it has caused to workers and their families but said that sacking them without warning or consulting them was a 'last resort' action.
The government is to consider what actions are available to them and the workers who have been made redundant, and Mr Hebblethwaite has been invited to attend an evidence gathering meeting of the Commons Business, Energy and Industry Strategy and Transport Committees tomorrow.
The chairmen of those committees, Darren Jones and Huw Merriman, said: "This shocking story has raised questions about UK employment law, safety practices, the support of this business through a pandemic and the redress available.
"We intend to hear from the key players about what they are going to do that means these workers are not left high and dry."
P&O Ferries say that more than £36 million in compensation is to be paid to those who lost their jobs, with 40 employees expected to receive payouts of more than £100,000.
The payouts will be linked to the former employee's length of service with the company, with some expected to receive more than £170,000.
The company claims that no-one will receive less than £15,000 and the total sum to be paid out is £36,541,648.
They also stated that employees will be given help to find new jobs either onshore or at sea.
A spokesperson said: "This has been an incredibly tough decision for the business: to make this choice or face taking the company into administration.
"This would have meant the loss of 3,000 jobs and the end of P&O Ferries.
"In making this hard choice, we have guaranteed the future viability of P&O Ferries, avoided large-scale and lengthy disruption, and secured Britain's trading capacity."
However, union bosses have hit out at the compensation.
Rail, Maritime, and Transport Union (RMT) general secretary Mick Lynch said: "The pay in lieu of notice is not compensation".
"It is just a payment staff are contractually entitled to as there was no notice given,
"The way that the package has been structured is pure blackmail and threats - that if staff do not sign up and give away their jobs and their legal right to take the company to an employment tribunal, they will receive a fraction of the amount put to them.
"The actions of P&O demonstrate the weakness of employment law and protections in the UK. P&O have flagrantly breached the law and abandoned any standards of workplace decency.
"They have ripped away the jobs, careers and pensions of our members and thrown them on the dole with the threat that if they do not sign up and give away their rights they will lose many thousands of pounds in payments."
Featured Image Credit: AlamyTom Wood