P&O zero-notice lay-offs are reprehensible and unlawful - ministers must intervene to stop them - TUC

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Issue date

17 Mar 2022

Commenting on the ferry operator P&O sacking its entire UK workforce without notice today (Thursday), TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said:

"No one should be laid off with zero notice and no consultation, let alone a whole workforce. P&O’s secret plan to sack their workers is reprehensible and unlawful.

“When an employer lays off more than 100 staff at once they must consult workers and unions in advance. And they are required to notify the Secretary of State in writing in advance too. The government must urgently explain what they knew and when.

“If P&O breached the law they must suffer severe consequences – with ministers increasing the legal penalties if necessary. If one employer gets away with this, every worker is at risk.”

Editors note

- Legality of P&O lay-offs and union action in response: Employers are legally required to consult workers during a statutory notice period before making workers redundant. P&O did not do this, so trade unions believe that the actions by P&O are likely to be unlawful. In addition, employers wishing to make more than 100 redundancies must notify the Business Secretary at least 45 days in advance of those dismissals (for 20 dismissals, it is 30 days). They must also state in that notification when consultation with the relevant unions and workforce commenced. Ministers must urgently clarify whether they were notified of P&O’s intentions, If they were not notified, then trade unions believe that the actions by P&O are likely to be unlawful. The relevant legislation is sections 188 and 193 of the Trade Union & Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 (TULRCA).

Unions representing P&O workers are currently taking legal advice with a view to legal action in defence of the employment rights of their members at P&O.

- Growth of ‘fire and re-hire' by employers: It is not yet clear if P&O intends to re-employ the laid-off workers on lower pay and worse conditions. However, this practice is a growing trend. TUC research has found that 1 in 10 (9%) of workers were told to re-apply for the jobs on worse terms and conditions in the first year of the pandemic. Full information is here: https://www.tuc.org.uk/news/fire-and-rehire-tactics-have-become-widespread-during-pandemic-warns-tuc

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