P&O Ferries slammed for ‘callous’ & ‘unlawful’ mass Zoom sacking

Around 800 employees have been informed via a Zoom call that they have lost their jobs with P&O Ferries this week.

In a virtual meeting held yesterday (17 March) a chief at the firm told seafarers that they would be “terminated” after explaining that it was “not a viable business” in its current state.

This is due to the business making a £100m loss year-on-year, which has been covered by its parent firm DP World, the exec said.

He added that this day would be workers’ “final day of employment”.

However, the manner in which the news was delivered has been slammed by unions, ministers and workers of P&O.

The BBC reported that unions have hit out against the dismissal, branding it a “dark day” in the shipping industry, while cross-party MPs have described the move as “callous” and “disgraceful”.

Mark Dickinson, general secretary of the maritime trade union Nautilus, explained: “It is a dark day in the shipping industry.

“I’ve seen some curveballs and some shocking developments over that time...but for a company to treat the legal process in such an underhand and callous way has shocked me.”

The Trades Union Congress (TUC) shared similar feelings, as its general secretary Frances O’Grady stated that the firm’s “plan to sack their workers is reprehensible and unlawful”.

“When an employer lays off more than 100 staff at once they must consult workers and unions in advance. And they are required to notify the secretary of state in writing in advance too. The government must urgently explain what they knew and when,” she said.

“If P&O breached the law they must suffer severe consequences – with ministers increasing the legal penalties if necessary. If one employer gets away with this, every worker is at risk.”

Secrets and schemes

Speaking to the Daily Mail, one worker slammed the ferry firm for “scheming behind closed doors before stabbing us in the back”.

They stated that P&O had secretly planned to fire its UK workforce in order to hire foreign workers because the business wants “British seafarers gone as we’re too expensive as far as they’re concerned and stand up for our rights”.

The employee said: “We’ve already been replaced. The new foreign workers are already on board. And I’ve got nothing against them.

“But clearly the company has been planning this behind our backs for a very long time to already have a new workforce in place. They’ve been scheming behind closed doors before stabbing us in the back.”

What are the legal implications?

According to Adam Pennington, senior associate solicitor specialising in employment law at Stephensons, it “appears” that P&O has likely failed to comply with its legal obligation to consult with staff before making them redundant.

“In circumstances where an employer proposes to make 20 to 99 redundancies, the employer must consult with staff for at least 30 days before the first dismissal takes place. Where 100 or more redundancies are proposed, as in this case, the minimum period of consultation is 45 days,” he advised.

“A failure to inform and consult with members of staff at risk of redundancy can give rise to a number of claims including unfair dismissal and claims for a ‘protective award’ for failing to comply with the minimum consultation periods.”

Rustom Tata, chairman and head of the employment group at law firm DMH Stallard, concluded: “For those staff who have been, or are about to be dismissed, they will certainly have claims for unfair dismissal.”

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