P&O Ferries bosses WON’T face criminal proceedings after firing 800 workers without notice says Government a day after firm’s Dubai-based owners celebrated record-breaking £736million profits
- P&O Ferries sacked 800 workers in March to replace with cheaper agency staff
- The move was widely condemned and branded ‘illegal’ and ‘corporate thuggery’
- But Insolvency Service decided there was ‘no realistic prospect of a conviction’
- This week owners DP World announced their half-year profits were up by 51%
P&O Ferries will not face criminal proceedings for its sudden firing of almost 800 workers earlier this year, the Government decided yesterday.
It comes just a day after the firm’s Dubai-based owners DP World celebrated record half-year profits of £736million, up 51 per cent on the same period in 2021.
P&O Ferries sparked public anger and was hauled in front of MPs to answer questions when it sacked hundreds of workers without notice in March to replace them with cheaper agency workers – in a move the firm’s boss Peter Hebblethwaite later admitted had been illegal but was ‘saving the business’.
Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng asked the Insolvency Service to investigate whether any offences had been committed.
In a statement, the Government agency said it had determined there was ‘no realistic prospect of a conviction’.
A spokesperson said: ‘After a full and robust criminal investigation into the circumstances surrounding the employees who were made redundant by P&O Ferries, we have concluded that we will not commence criminal proceedings.’
The government has decided not to commence criminal proceedings against P&O Ferries after the company fired 800 workers without notice. Pictured: workers who had just been sacked leaving the Port of Dover in March
A civil investigation is ongoing.
Nautilus International, a union which represents maritime professionals, said the Insolvency Service’s decision will be a blow to the ‘discarded’ workers.
General secretary Mark Dickinson said: ‘This is a deeply disappointing decision and will be met with frustration and anger by the 786 seafarers and their families who were so cruelly discarded by P&O Ferries.
‘Only one day after P&O Ferries parent company announced record profits, making the company’s claims on operational sustainability questionable, we are further let down by a system that fails to punish apparent criminal corporatism.
‘The message is clear, P&O Ferries must be held properly accountable for their disgraceful actions and we will continue the campaign to ensure that the CEO and his fellow Directors are held to account and to make certain this can never happen again.’
During the hearings in Parliament the business admitted that it had broken the law that would have forced them to give notice of the firings. This was because no unions would have accepted its new proposals, bosses said at the time.
DP World boss Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem (pictured) said he is ‘delighted’ about the record half-year results reported by the company on Wednesday
A Government spokesperson told the BBC: ‘In sacking 800 dedicated staff on the spot, P&O Ferries not only acted callously but failed to uphold the high standards we expect of British businesses.
‘Given their appalling behaviour, it’s very disappointing that the company will not face criminal proceedings.’
DP World attracted renewed criticism on Wednesday after announcing its record-breaking profits.
Secretary general of the Trades Union Congress Frances O’Grady accused them of getting away ‘scot-free with behaving like corporate gangsters’.
Ms O’Grady said: ‘These eye-watering profits come off the back of illegally sacking hundreds of dedicated staff. They are an insult to common decency.’
‘Ministers should have stripped DP world of all their lucrative public contracts and severed all commercial ties with the company. But now they too are using the P&O playbook.
‘Having slammed P&O for replacing experienced workers with agency staff, Grant Shapps has passed laws that will allow employers to bus in agency workers during strikes.
‘At a time when the cost of living is soaring and wages are falling, the Conservative government wants to make it much harder for people to win better pay and conditions.’
P&O Ferries chief executive Peter Hebblethwaite (pictured) admitted the sudden sacking of 800 workers had been illegal but was ‘saving the business’
The RMT Union said in a Tweet yesterday: ‘Throwing UK seafarers off @POferries was always about increasing DP World’s profits. P&O Ferries continues to operate and @grantshapps has let them get away with it. #EnoughIsEnough.’
DP World, which is ultimately owned by the Dubai royal family and is one of the biggest port operators in the world, credited the increase in revenue and profits to a shortage of cargo ships following a surge in demand and supply chain disruptions linked to the Covid-19 pandemic.
‘We are delighted to report a record set of first-half results,’ said DP World boss Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem.
‘The strong first half performance of 2022 is due to our consistent investment in relevant capacity, focus on high margin cargo and drive to deliver customised solutions to cargo owners.
P&O Ferries had previously requested a £150million bailout from the Government after demand for its ferries collapsed during the pandemic (stock image)
‘The strong first half performance leaves us well placed to deliver improved full year results.’
DP World did not give separate details on the performance of its ferries business in its results but most of its revenue and profits come from other divisions.
It operates ports in 78 countries across the world and bought P&O Ferries for £3.3billion in 2006.
Gervais Williams, fund manager at Premier Milton, explained on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: ‘The whole point about this business is that it’s principally involved in cargo logistics, so it’s involved in containers and moving containers around the world and that’s the main part of the business, it’s only a very small part that is P&O.
‘Clearly the P&O operations have had a huge hit in terms of reputational damage and that will have affected revenues and future profits for that part of the business.’
Britain’s Dover port had to contend with delays in April partly caused by P&O ferry service sacking its workers (Pictured: Freight lorries at Port of Dover on April 12)
He agreed that the record-breaking profits would be a ‘hard pill to swallow’ for the workers who were sacked in March.
At the time P&O Ferries said the decision had been made to ensure its survival, saying its losses were ‘not sustainable’.
The company had previously requested a £150million bailout from the Government after demand for its ferries collapsed during the pandemic.
But the request was turned down after it was reported the firm had paid out £270million in dividends to investors in 2020.
Staff were initially told of the mass firings in video calls on ships telling them it was their last day of employment, before ordering them off the vessels.
During the parliamentary hearings, the business admitted that it had broken the law that would have forced them to give notice of the firings, saying this was because no union would have accepted its new proposals.
P&O Ferries also admitted that almost 200 of the staff it fired said they had lost possessions that were left on the ships on the day the sackings were carried out.
P&O Ferries has been contacted for comment.
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