P&O chief executive admits firm broke law by choosing not to consult with unions

The chief executive of P&O Ferries has admitted the firm broke the law by choosing not to consult over the mass sacking of 800 workers on the spot.
Speaking in front of a parliamentary committee, Peter Hebblethwaite said there was “absolutely no doubt” the company was required to consult the unions before taking action.
He also offered an apology to the seafarers and their families who have been affected by the sackings, calling it an “incredibly difficult decision”.
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[@JonnyEnglish-gu1cs]

Criminal behaviour I hope he and P&O don’t get away with it- but knowing the British system they will that’s why they did it no consequences 😡

[@nicwp7320]

IF HE BROKE THE LAW AND KNEW IT PUT HIM IN PRISON

[@alistairbeveridge2753]

You don’t even think before you speak , why should the British taxpayer fund a jail term for this person , where is the justice in landing joe public yet another excessive bill and feeding him four square meals a day , good people are already being forced to beg at food banks just to get a meal , surely we need to focus on the good people of this country , that’s where the money needs to go , not keeping the wealthy locked up

[@andrewvictor1865]

The MP appears to be making the mistake of calling these redundancies, along with all of the media. Redundancy and dismissal are different in UK employment legislation. If your job is abolished and you have to leave a company you have been made redundant. If the job remains and someone else is brought in to do it after you have left, you have been dismissed. As far as I can see, the company is intending to replace these poor people with new recruits. This means that all or most of them have been dismissed, not made redundant. These are quite different processes and those reporting on the issues need to make sure they use the terms correctly.

[@sarahboardman1337]

@andrew victor. You are absolutely correct. Hiring new workers to do same job, at reduced salaries nullifies redundancy.

[@thefastandthedead1769]

Well said!

[@MotoTvWoodsFarm]

they change the terms of contract so it is not a like for like replacement that is how that is legally dealt with

[@richardlewis7498]

well done for pointing that out they have been sacked with a sweetner to go. you only get redundancy pay if either your job no longer exists or they want to redice staffing levels so they ask people do they want voluntary redundacy

[@the11metersd.x.channel.55]

Every port authority in the UK are duty bound to ban any P&O owned vessel clearance or berth allocation.. This is blatant profiteering !!!.. And breaks many industrial laws intended to protect employees.. I would also urge the public to boycott P&O Ferries on mass.

[@JosephRawsthorne31]

Sadly most ports are owned by DP world P&O parent company

[@ardakolimsky7107]

@@Sidowse Bloody ridiculous statement

[@swampy1234]

En masse*

[@the11metersd.x.channel.55]

@@ardakolimsky7107 good luck with your 5.50 comrade.🤑

[@the11metersd.x.channel.55]

@@swampy1234 congratulations on being the grammar guru for this thread. You win the golden bell end.. 😂

[@musaxcoco2833]

The arrogance from this CEO is breathtaking.

[@alecduguid7270]

1. THIS IS A TOTAL ABUSE OF POWER. 2. HE/THEY HAVE "NO RESPECT " FOR THE WORKERS. 3. ASKED THE QUESTION ABOUT THE MEETING IN DUBAI CLAIMING.. " HE HAD NO KNOWLEDGE/ OR WHO ATTENDED " THIS A TOTAL "LIE" 4. THEY KNEW ABOUT THIS SITUATION BEFOREHAND AND THEY DIDN'T GIVE THE WORKERS A CHANCE TO PREPARE OR INFORM THEM ABOUT THE SITUATION. 5. THE WORKERS PUT P&O ON THE GRID AND THEY HAVE JUST BEEN "ABUSED" WITHOUT A THOUGHT FOR THEIR FAMILIES OR THEIR FUTURE. 6. IF THATS HOW HE TREATS HIS LOYAL WORKERS.... I FEEL SORRY FOR HIS FAMILY. 7. BIG UP THE WORKERS....👍👍👍👍👍 "F" P & O 👎👎👎👎 8. FINALLY... IS THIS HOW WE AS A "UNITED KINGDOM " TREAT PEOPLE NOW.???..

[@vo4068]

Tell all of your customers not to use P&O!

[@Rankbaajin]

"We had to break the law, because what we wanted to do was illegal." There, fixed it for you.

[@JD-sr3ym]

Lock him up, criminal admits being one

[@JD-sr3ym]

His premise is that managers can do anything they want to. Law does not apply to them.

[@3D_Printing]

They WILL Get away with it BIG MONEY

[@porkarse5675]

They say ignorance of the law is no defence, these people knew exactly what they were doing so whatever the maximum punishment is should be applied as well as the individuals personally responsible.

[@janey1133]

What an absolutely disgraceful man who sacked 800 people without any regard for them or the law!

[@kristoffarrell6899]

Amazing, he factored in the penalty for breaking the law into his strategy as affordable. This CEO clearly doesn't believe in corporate social responsibility, therefore suggest the public show him and any other firm who wants to do this move to workers just don't get their custom. Then they will go bust, he will lose his job, some other lot will buy the assets at a cheap price and life gets back to good business practice.

[@georgeknox1822]

When and if ever I receive fines, I’m not paying them and I’ll quote this video as the point of law if he isn’t prosecuted…

[@bobbybates2614]

I think they should get a hefty fine and pay large amount of compensation to the 800 people who were unjustly sacked

[@MWR62]

I would not sail on a P & O vessel crewed by low paid, internationally sourced seafarers. Why? Safety. Where did they train? What Certificates of Competency do they have? Issued by whom? What experience do they have in North Channel winter weather? Avoid using P&O!

[@jamestyler2593]

We Know We Broke The Law and We Do'nt Care its like when people chop down a tree and know they will get a 10k fine BUT the value of the land/house goes up 100k lol

[@nickbarton3191]

They figured that it's cheaper to pay the fine than go through the trouble of consultation.

[@johnsellars7328]

Pointless words. He doesn't give a toss!

[@helipeek2736]

His defence will be “Well, my mate Boris breaks the law and gets away with it all the time. So, we thought we could too.”

[@13millsey]

I wondered how long it would be before someone had no other excuse other than drag Boris into this

[@helipeek2736]

@@13millsey well done, you win this week’s star prize.

[@hilaryporter7841]

I'd rather listen to the excuses of a shop lifter up in front of a magistrate. Can you imagine if the defendant said to the magistrate "these were very extreme circumstances". In the case of the shop lifter he may have been telling the truth, perhaps he was hungry, but he would have received no sympathy from the magistrate. Why should these corporate villains walk away without even a smack on their hands. Their careers need to be blighted for ever just as happens to the petty criminals., Money buys 'justice'. They will not suffer.

[@hilaryporter7841]

@@jamesjackson2647 I'm afraid that double barreled shot guns don't get my vote, I'd like to see all guns thrown down a deep mine for ever and with them throw the military industrial complex and be done with them as well. However, I get the point that some people literally get away with murder. Thousands lost to COVID unnecessarily, thousand lost to hypothermia unnecessarily, thousands lost to wars for pointless ideology and pointless greed and profit. All of these losses caused by the so called elite who abuse their privilege and exploit the brave hard working people of our nation and fail to look after the vulnerable citizens who have often given a lifetime of work but find themselves on a Tory scrapheap.

[@autumnleaves8553]

There's absolutely no doubt that we were required to...We chose not to 🧐

[@yetidodger6650]

We have a ruling government that acts above the law of the land, why would they expect others to not follow the example?

[@marktony9737]

The tories have made this type of behaviour the norm now.

[@jimmysunday124]

What is the punishment for treason?!? What do we do with traitors?!?

[@Anooppawar1]

Nothing and a seat in the house of Lords.

[@roserose-gt4if]

Have a party for them in Johnson's flat

[@virgilpalmer2427]

When you're rich, you don't go to jail...

[@davidmuldoon3307]

Tory Britain. God help us!!!!

[@nearlyaverage9694]

This man is dodging questions like Neo from the matrix

[@geertremans4964]

he does not care, after this he will go home with a huge amount off money and start somewhere else again with large pay no moral , maybe even not human

[@glennbateman4483]

How come France and Belgium were untouched ? Anything to do with Brexit ?

[@y5chu]

This man should be in jail and a boycott of P&O!

[@lorrainerizzotto1789]

A shite response to all questions and will anything happen? Shocking

[@iainwalker8701]

My guess is they thought they would be fined less, than they would have to pay out if they had done it legally.

[@elliotgregory3356]

Shouldn't this be a prison sentence?

[@alexritchie4586]

"Is that how you go about your life?" "No." Liar!

[@lindylou7853]

It’s not as if the government’s redundancy policy isn’t all over their websites in detail or that redundancy handling isn’t a core part of HR training.

[@martj1313]

I doubt P&O are going to benefit from this as much as they think.

[@ravenking1953]

This could be a test, if they get away with it with just a compensation package other companies may do it .and take the slap on the wrist making a mockery of our working rights even further , i think that may well be the goal just like agencies ( working one day not the other but the company still has 20 workers a week every week) striping us of protections by the back door , no legislation needed .

[@JD-sr3ym]

Lock him up, criminal admits being one.

[@shindersamra4020]

P and o must sacked he is getting over paid salary and bonuses.

[@ChrizRockster]

£350K a year definitely buys you Teflon shoulders.

[@trevcam6892]

He broke the law. Why hasn't been even cautioned yet?

[@olliebuck5243]

This fucking CEO earns over 6k per week plus bonuses and he is absolutely clueless. P&O have destroyed their reputation forever.

[@timwingham8952]

In a display of breathtaking arrogance and lack of empathy, they have simply factored into the equation the fine for breaking the law. Utterly vile.

[@ianearl3407]

So will all the media now post apologies to Boris for accusing him of being wrong about the legality of the sackings?? No, didn't think not!

[@jayhow997]

P&o should be forced to pay back all the money given to those employees via furlough scheme and pay those employees a handsome redundancy from the £150 million gov handout. I can't imagine many of those employees would want their jobs bs back , they may need them back but wanting an needing are 2 different things,. I certainly wouldn't put myself out after being "fired" like that.

[@stevehillier7018]

Typical attitude of we do what we like . Total contempt for its employees and Trade Union.

[@oldfatbastad6053]

He broke the law so why has he not been arrested yet then????

[@aaronmccardie8795]

Lots of businesses lost money during the pandemic.

[@davidbrown2571]

Redundancy means , the job is no longer there? You do NOT replace a person because someone else is CHEAPER, Otherwise everyone will be replaced by robots who won't have any rights to complain.

[@memyself717]

That's called constructive dismissal -a civil offense.

[@pgrimmy]

Thinks he is above the , got news for you pal

[@bobbybates2614]

Looks like he lying ecuses

[@danielmcleanfisher]

What a clown to have a top team who thought it was ok to break the law in this way.

[@mushymi5680]

This confirms they constructively dismissed staff and is illegal in the UK, they should take them to court and get every penny out of them.

[@MotoTvWoodsFarm]

Gove changed the various parts of Employment law recently i think it's unlikely the law has been broken, even if it has that would only delay the process not stop the process. So its a distraction, better sense would be to find a possible way to keep in employment the maximum of people and to understand what it necessary for that to happen.

[@liammorrissey5407]

He was answering his way to ridicule but the idiotic mp kept preventing him

[@nadar1824]

Pity no one asked how much P&O or its associates give towards the Tory coffers.

[@stephen2583]

Just remove their operating licence, Simple as that.

[@Jason-xl6ov]

Guys you can’t put him in prison. He won’t last 2mins

[@DorifutoRabbit]

Maybe fines should be a percentage of company earnings/business size rather than a fixed cost, to stop this sort of behaviour

[@Kontrolleuchte]

What embitters me, is that I think they will get away with it. As far as I understand the legal situation, their move is allowed, if the business had gone bancrupt otherwise. All Tories voted against a Labour bill against fire and rehire for that reason in October 2021 (Barry Gardiner MP’s Private Members’ Bill). For the lack of consultancy they have to pay higher severance than usual, which they do. Hebblethwaite and Kristensen know this and have now to endure a few uncomfortable questions for a little while, but this comes with the pay grade, and the boni will be paid I guess, if the business is saved. Shareholders only care about that and the dividend. Gangster capitalism will flourish, if the rule of law is weak and full of loop holes. On reflection, it is not even gangster then. Just ice cold business, totaly uncaring about the human factor.

[@yvonnerout7319]

just never use them at all

[@Mike_5]

Maybe P&O should rebrand to Titanic

[@davefave4351]

Has he resigned yet?

[@garymoore8204]

He's another one who thinks the law is there to be broken , another person with no heart , just jail the evil bastards

[@stpd1957]

He choose to break the law

[@marks.6480]

"We broke the law but only in a very specific and limited way"

[@marygee3209]

Keep P&O out of our country and when they have finished paying compensation, not just for illegally sacking them but for all the pain and suffering the employees have, and are going through they should be finished. P&O representative sound like an entitled school boy.

[@sweeneytod1]

He will leave with millions of pounds in cash, assets, pension, and property and get a job somewhere else.

[@redmed10]

This is a Ratners moment. Doubt p and o will be able to survive this.

[@honesttroll3463]

Unions are there to make you cry

[@ryanmurphy7976]

Nothing will happen the tories will look after their mates

[@m0chkijapakyana948]

It's the laws of humanity all over the world that should help defend human rights and freedom, it's not NATO that should do that it is the laws of human rights?

[@timanon7149]

Sanction them, seize their ships and assets 👍

[@bazzar2270]

British Airways and asda threatened all their staff with the same if they didn't agree to new t+c's. Bully boy tactics by big business has been allowed to go for years. Is sacking care workers for not getting the jab just as bad?

[@danielmcleanfisher]

The old ops model trick

[@nolickspittle4753]

All businesses do this. They were just in public eye due to size.

[@lazydoctorr]

HAHAHAHA, where's the laugh tracks?

[@jimmysunday124]

Traitor

[@mm-pw3cm]

uk goverment should ban P&O

[@jacksmith7726]

The crews should take the ships for joyrides become pirates or reenact the titanic

[@alfwalsh3421]

What are you crying about' its not as we are asking are members to row across the channel for £5.50 per hour. and we will still give them bread to eat

[@nigelwilliams2547]

Jail him

[@paulshenton2382]

Sorry, I fell asleep as, I hadn’t had much for last few few days I I’m

[@Lars_Paulsen]

If you don't let the man finish his answer, then I would rather belive him than you, always. The one who doesn't want to hear what happened, is usually the one in the wrong...

[@daveymc172]

Jail him