P&O Ferries on March 17 dismissed 800 workers with immediate effect via a prerecorded video. They were then escorted off ships by security teams as agency workers on less than the minimum wage waited in buses to replace them.
On March 24, the company’s chief executive, Peter Hebblethwaite, told U.K. lawmakers that, as part of P&O’s plan to restructure the company to keep it financially viable, it had knowingly broken the law by refusing to consult with unions or employees before culling the workforce.
Within days of Hebblethwaite’s widely criticized Parliamentary appearance, maritime authorities prevented two P&O ships from putting out to sea over safety fears as the new crews had little or no sailing experience.
The episode has united U.K. politicians of all parties to condemn the company’s actions, call for legal sanctions, and consider whether the law needs to be reviewed and overhauled to prevent others from following suit.
One problem: P&O’s actions appear to be largely legal, and where the company might have broken the law, the sanctions are so light that other companies could reasonably think it is worth ignoring the legislation as a price of doing business.
“In the United Kingdom, very few employment laws have criminal penalties, which means writing out big checks for unlawful and quick dismissals may settle civil liabilities while the business remains afloat,” said Tim Gofton, a senior associate in the employment team at law firm Royds Withy King.
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