Stormy Seas Ahead for P&O
At the end of last week there was an absolutely stunning moment as P&O Ferries sacked 800 members of staff with immediate effect.
The question that many people asked in the wake of this news was just how something like this was able to happen??
In the coming weeks and months we will, no doubt, find out more details but it appears that the ferry company failed to consult with its workers in what would be a breach of employment law.
Where an employer wishes to make more than 100 of their employees redundant, there must be at least a 45 day consultation period. From what has been reported, it appears that the employees at P&O got absolutely no notice whatsoever. Instead, last Thursday ships were called back to port and workers were merely told that there was a ‘major announcement’ on the way.
Legally speaking, this could lead to a whole host of claims and the remedies may well include a protective award of 90 days gross pay and a finding of unfair dismissal which itself constitutes a basic award of compensation derived from a formula as well as additional compensation for the actual loss of employment.
This desperate measure by P&O that attempts to resolve their dire financial situation could turn out to be very short-sighted and ultimately make it worse as their legal costs mount up.
In tomorrow’s edition of the newsletter for subscribers I plan to explain how a legislative failing by the government means that the executives at P&O escape criminal sanction for their behaviour.
In this week’s episode of the podcast we talk about how to strike a balance between the right to privacy and freedom of expression. The media organisation, Bloomberg, made a strong argument for the freedom of the press but where should the courts choose to draw the limits?
Episode link: http://uklawweekly.com/2022-uksc-5/
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Marcus