Hundreds of workers at UK ferry group fired by video, protest hits ports

Employers generally must consult with staff at least 45 days before making dismissals, said Adam Pennington, a lawyer at Stephensons. 

“P&O may have failed to comply with its legal obligation to consult with those members of staff before making them redundant,” Pennington said. This could give rise to claims including unfair dismissal and “protective award,” he said.

P&O Ferries is the largest operator on the Short Straits between the coast of Kent and Northern France, and is a major operator in the North Sea and Irish Sea. It has 2,200 employees remaining, it said in the statement. The company said it will offer redundant staff enhanced severance packages because of the short notice.

While the Dover-Calais route is a crucial trade and travel link to continental Europe for the U.K., it’s also served by other ferry operators, including Denmark-based DFDS A/S and Dublin-based Irish Ferries . Trucks and cars can also travel between France and the U.K. via the Channel Tunnel, operated by Getlink SE.

DFDS is providing alternative service for passengers with valid P&O tickets, Robert Courts, the junior minister for transport, told lawmakers in Parliament.

“Reports of workers being given zero notice and escorted off their ships with immediate effect while being told cheaper alternatives would take up their roles shows the insensitive way in which P&O have approached this issue,” Courts said, “a point I have made crystal clear to P&O management when I spoke to them earlier this afternoon.”

Long history

P&O Ferries traces its history to 1837 and a company that carried post between the Iberian Peninsula and London by steamer.

The firm established its English Channel and Irish Sea ferry services in the 1960s. It was bought by DP World, the ports operator owned by the government of the United Arab Emirates, in 2006 as part of a $6.8 billion takeover of ports operator Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Co.

P&O Ferries today carries more than 10 million passengers and 2 million units of freight every year, linking Great Britain with France, Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, Holland and Belgium.