P&O Ferries make 800 British Workers Redundant
 

And with immediate effect. (Potentially breaching UK employment law)

https://news.sky.com/story/p-o-ferri...kings-12568494

Re: P&O Cruises disgracefully make 800 British Workers Redundant
 

Hopefully people boycott them. Pathetic action.

Re: P&O Cruises disgracefully make 800 British Workers Redundant
 

Desperate stuff from P&O.

It's a good job market at the moment so I'm sure they could have restructured the company in a less aggressive way which does not disrupts everyone's lives - both staff and customers. This has damaged their reputation badly.

Re: P&O Cruises disgracefully make 800 British Workers Redundant
 

There’s no ‘potentially’ about it Mick. For a start, they are meant to consult with their employees (through the trade unions) before making anyone redundant. Given the number of redundancies involved, at least 3 months’ notice of the intention to declare redundancies should be provided. During that time, companies are meant to carry out meaningful consultation and consider alternatives.

All employees are also entitled to statutory notice pay or more if contracts are more generous.

As for replacing permanent staff with agency staff, well good luck with that one. That certainly doesn’t indicate that dismissal is by reason of redundancy as the jobs are still there.

If the company do not withdraw this threat of redundancies, they will stand liable to pay out a huge amount of compensation to these employees. They have already done tremendous damage, because even if the proposals were withdrawn, employees would be able to leave the company and sue for constructive dismissal on the grounds of loss of trust and confidence based on the company’s actions.

What they should have done was consult the unions about proposed changes in terms and conditions, citing the financial position of the company and the preference to avoid redundancies. This should lead again to meaningful discussions on how to ensure that jobs could be retained in the harsher economic climate.

If negotiations on changes to contracts do not result in agreement, the company should then give everyone notice of termination under their existing contracts and an offer of re-employment on new terms and conditions of employment with no break in service. As an inducement to accept, the company could give those accepting the new contracts within a specified time limit six months’ protection on their existing terms and conditions before the new contracts kick in.

Does P&O not have an HR Department?!! This ineptitude will cost them a fortune.

Re: P&O Cruises disgracefully make 800 British Workers Redundant
 

Red OB. I like it :)

Re: P&O Cruises disgracefully make 800 British Workers Redundant
 

Yeah, except he's proposing the old management trick of fire and rehire (probably on substantially reduced money and conditions).

We're under the threat of a Section 188 notice despite the council saying next financial year they intend to increase the FTE job count by some 200 :confused: It's wrong to treat your staff like that.

Re: P&O Cruises disgracefully make 800 British Workers Redundant
 

Just a point of clarity. The company that has made the staff redundant is P&O Ferries, part of DP World. P&O Cruises is a separate company and a brand of the Carnival cruise company.

Re: P&O Cruises disgracefully make 800 British Workers Redundant
 

Title amended. :tu:

Re: P&O Cruises disgracefully make 800 British Workers Redundant
 

I’m not proposing that at all, Grim. I’m just telling you how it should be done if that’s what an employer wants to do. The way P&O is going about it is amateurish and unbecoming of such a large company.

Re: P&O Ferries disgracefully make 800 British Workers Redundant
 

Apparently, they are able to get away with doing this because, following Brexit, the Government repealed the EU Port Regulations.

The National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers campaigned for a yes vote to leave the EU. There have been claims that this union has links to Putin.

Re: P&O Ferries disgracefully make 800 British Workers Redundant
 

I don't think the EU Port Services Regulations had anything to do with what P&O Ferries have done here. The Regulations are not primarily concerned with employment matters, although Article 9 does provide that ports must require the designated provider of port services to grant staff working conditions in accordance with applicable obligations in social and labour law and to comply with social standards as set out in Union law, national law or collective agreements.

What P&O Ferries has done is breach the UK's employment law, and so however you look at this, it was unlawful before Brexit and it remains unlawful now.

Re: P&O Ferries disgracefully make 800 British Workers Redundant
 

But they're not contracted in the UK, they're on Jersey contracts apparently.

---------- Post added at 09:12 ---------- Previous post was at 09:11 ----------

They're not employed under UK law.

---------- Post added at 09:13 ---------- Previous post was at 09:12 ----------

It's nothing to do with BREXIT (the employment bit, there's an argument the dip in cross channel freight may be an issue)

Re: P&O Ferries disgracefully make 800 British Workers Redundant
 

Jersey law still has consultation requirements

https://www.jacs.org.je/media/1105/r...-sept-2020.pdf

Re: P&O Ferries disgracefully make 800 British Workers Redundant
 

Well hopefully Jersey (or whatever jurisdiction, they are under) throw the book at them.

Re: P&O Ferries disgracefully make 800 British Workers Redundant
 

Eeh by jolly, don’t repeat this mantra, it will give Re-joiners something else to froth at the mouth, where it doesn’t apply.

Where companies often slip up, because they invest very little in a Human Resources Dept. Whether under UK, or Jersey jurisdictions, in redundancy, the role(s) being made redundant, have to cease to exist, the same responsibilities cannot be passed on to other workers.

As BenMcr above points out, there has to be a consultancy period, each employee has to be offered alternative opportunities, if they exist within the company, redundancy is or has to be last resort.

Under UK law and I expect it to be same under Jersey law, there has to be notice periods, if employees are not expected to be at work in their notice period, then they are legally entitled to payment in lieu of notice. Usually 90 days under UK law.

Just seen this though under Jersey law:

9 weeks additional compensation pay for failure to adequately notify or warn of redundancy x 800 on top of Statutory redundancy payment requirements, P&O Ferries may have dropped a very large bollock here and it now serves them right, not only the public backlash but the sting in the tail, financial stings they’re about to face.