London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Monday, Sep 08, 2025

P&O Ferries defends job cuts as some to get £100,000

P&O Ferries defends job cuts as some to get £100,000

P&O Ferries has denied suggestions that it broke the law when it sacked 800 workers without warning last week.

Ministers had questioned whether the move was legal under British law - but in a letter, the firm said those affected were employed outside the UK.

It also said staff would benefit from a £36.5m redundancy pot - with around 40 getting more than £100,000 each.

Unions said the compensation package being offered was "pure blackmail and threats".

The video message in which the company sacked workers last Thursday prompted widespread outrage, with unions claiming some staff would be replaced by Indian seafarers on £1.81 an hour.

Ministers had threatened the firm with "unlimited fines" but in a letter to Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng, its chief executive Peter Hebblethwaite said the 786 sacked workers were employed by three Jersey-based arms of P&O Ferries.

The eight ships they worked on, which service routes including Dover-Calais and Larne-Ciarnryan, are all registered in either Cyprus or the Bahamas.

Sacked staff had told the BBC about their experience of being "treated like criminals" but in the letter Mr Hebblethwaite denied "rumours" that security staff who boarded vessels to manage the situation wore balaclavas or were directed to use handcuffs or force.

"The teams accompanying the seafarers off our vessels were totally professional in handling this difficult task," he said.

The company said its settlement with its workers is believed to be "the largest compensation package in the British marine sector," and more than 40 staff would get severance packages of more than £100,000 each.

P&O Ferries vessels remain docked in Dover


P&O Ferries said some employees are set to get 91 weeks' pay and the chance of new employment, and no employee will receive less than £15,000.

The transport and freight company said 575 seafarers affected were in discussions to progress with the severance offers.

However, the RMT union, which has been organising protests over the redundancies said "the pay in lieu of notice is not compensation".

"If staff do not sign up and give away their jobs and their legal right to take the company to an employment tribunal they will receive a fraction of the amount put to them," general secretary Mick Lynch said.

P&O Ferries had until Tuesday at 17:00 to respond to the letter from Mr Kwarteng - in which he said that P&O Ferries "appears to have failed" to follow the correct process for making large-scale redundancies, by not consulting with unions and notifying the government in time.

Mr Kwarteng pointed out that failure to notify is "a criminal offence and can lead to an unlimited fine".

Government officials will now review Mr Hebblethwaite's latest response.

Separately, Business Minister Paul Scully said the government was reviewing all of its contracts with P&O ferries and its owner DP World, including a £25 million subsidy to DP World to help develop London Gateway as a freeport.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Germany Suspends Debt Rules, Funnels €500 Billion Toward Military and Proxy War Strategy
EU Prepares for War
BMW Eyes Growth in China with New All‑Electric Neue Klasse Lineup
Trump Threatens Retaliatory Tariffs After EU Imposes €2.95 Billion Fine on Google
Tesla Board Proposes Unprecedented One-Trillion-Dollar Performance Package for Elon Musk
US Justice Department Launches Criminal Mortgage-Fraud Probe into Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook
Escalating Drug Trafficking and Violence in Latin America: A Growing Crisis
US and Taiwanese Defence Officials Held Secret Talks in Alaska
Report: Secret SEAL Team 6 Mission in North Korea Ordered by Trump in 2019 Ended in Failure
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Florida Murder Case: The Adelson Family, the Killing of Dan Markel, and the Trial of Donna Adelson
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Big Tech Executives Laud Trump at White House Dinner, Unveil Massive U.S. Investments
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
‘Looks Like a Wig’: Online Users Express Concern Over Kate Middleton
Brand-New $1 Million Yacht Sinks Just Fifteen Minutes After Maiden Launch in Turkey
Here’s What the FBI Seized in John Bolton Raid — and the Legal Risks He Faces
Florida’s Vaccine Revolution: DeSantis Declares War on Mandates
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
"The Situation Has Never Been This Bad": The Fall of PepsiCo
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
The Fashion Designer Who Became an Italian Symbol: Giorgio Armani Has Died at 91
Putin Celebrates ‘Unprecedentedly High’ Ties with China as Gazprom Seals Power of Siberia-2 Deal
China Unveils New Weapons in Grand Military Parade as Xi Hosts Putin and Kim
Queen Camilla’s Teenage Courage: Fended Off Attempted Assault on London Train, New Biography Reveals
Scottish Brothers Set Record in Historic Pacific Row
Rapper Cardi B Cleared of Liability in Los Angeles Civil Assault Trial
Google Avoids Break-Up in U.S. Antitrust Case as Stocks Rise
Couple celebrates 80th wedding anniversary at assisted living facility in Lancaster
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
The White House on LinkedIn Has Changed Their Profile Picture to Donald Trump
"Insulted the Prophet Muhammad": Woman Burned Alive by Angry Mob in Niger State, Nigeria
Trump Responds to Death Rumors – Announces 'Missile City'
Court of Appeal Allows Asylum Seekers to Remain at Essex Hotel Amid Local Tax Boycott Threats
Germany in Turmoil: Ukrainian Teenage Girl Pushed to Death by Illegal Iraqi Migrant
United Krack down on human rights: Graham Linehan Arrested at Heathrow Over Three X Posts, Hospitalised, Released on Bail with Posting Ban
Asian and Middle Eastern Investors Avoid US Markets
Ray Dalio Warns of US Shift to Autocracy
Eurozone Inflation Rises to 2.1% in August
Russia and China Sign New Gas Pipeline Deal
China's Robotics Industry Fuels Export Surge
Suntory Chairman Resigns After Police Probe
Gold Price Hits New All-Time Record
Von der Leyen's Plane Hit by Suspected Russian GPS Interference in an Incident Believed to Be Caused by Russia or by Pro-Peace or by Anti-Corruption European Activists
UK Fintechs Explore Buying US Banks
Greece Suspends 5% of Schools as Birth Rate Drops
Apollo to Launch $5 Billion Sports Investment Vehicle
Bolsonaro Trial Nears Close Amid US-Brazil Tension
European Banks Push for Lower Cross-Border Barriers
×