You are contacting
Daniel Zona
Associate
Business & Employment law for employees & Employment law for employers
Ferry company P&O hit the headlines last month when it made 800 workers redundant via an online video call and with almost no notice.
1 minute read
26 April 2022
Associate
Talk to Daniel about Employment law for employers & Employment law for employees
The legality of this move was questioned widely at the time, and the P&O chief executive admitted to a parliamentary select committee that it breached legislation which required the company to consult on mass redundancies.
Now P&O is in the news again following reports that it has tried to cut further the wages of the new agency workers that had been hired to replace the staff who were made redundant. Workers on board a P&O ship at Dover contacted the RMT union who reported the company to the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA). The MCA used their powers to block the cuts and ensured the workers retained their previous pay rates when being moved onto new contracts. P&O were reportedly keen to keep on the same workers rather than hiring new and untrained staff in order to ensure they met the compulsory safety requirements that would allow their ships to pass the necessary inspections so they could sail. P&O has denied, however, that there was any attempt to cut wages in the case concerned and said that the complaints stemmed from an ‘administrative misunderstanding’.
The agency workers were already reported to be being paid well below national minimum wage even prior to the new proposed cuts. However, P&O has claimed that the UK legislation does not apply to workers on ferries, and that their pay rates are consistent with international seafaring models. The government has threatened to introduce legislation that will allow ports to prevent entry by ships that do not pay a ‘fair wage’. Port authorities have expressed scepticism that any such plan would be workable, and P&O has previously claimed that similar moves would lead to the company’s collapse.
26 April 2022
Employment law for employees & Employment law for employers
Shorter Reads
Employment law for employees & Employment law for employers
Shorter Reads
Employment law for employees & Employment law for employers
Shorter Reads
Employment law for employees & Employment law for employers
Shorter Reads
Employment law for employees & Employment law for employers
Shorter Reads
Employment law for employers
Shorter Reads
You are contacting
Associate
daniel.zona@collyerbristow.com
Subscribe
Please add your details and your areas of interest below
Article contributors
Associate
Specialising in Employment law for employers and Employment law for employees
Trainee Solicitor
Specialising in Training
FINDING OUR ARTICLES OF INTEREST? SUBSCRIBE TO RECEIVE THE LATEST CONTENT DIRECT TO YOUR INBOX
Subscribe nowCollyer Bristow continues growth with Commercial Litigation Partner hire
© 2022 Collyer Bristow LLP
© 2022 Collyer Bristow LLP
Latest from Collyer Bristow
< Back to menu
I have an issue and need your help
Scroll to see our A-Z list of expertise
< Back to menu
I'd like to just search for something