Peter Hebblethwaite

325000-a-year chief says 'no union could possibly accept our proposal' for the mass redundancies so 'consultation process would have been a sham'

The 800 sacked workers have been required to sign gagging clauses as part of their settlement with the firm. I’m pleased ministers agreed with me that this looks to be a breach of his duties as a company director under the Companies Act. Mr Hebblethwaite revealed that Grant Shapps, the Transport Secretary, had a meeting with senior executives from P&O’s parent company DP World at Dubai Expo on 22 November last year, at which it was discussed that “some changes would be made to our business” in the coming months. But he said the full scale of the plans were not mentioned to Mr Shapps as they had not yet been finalised. Mr Scully said government lawyers were looking at all the options available. Or are you just a shameless criminal?”

Chief executive admits breaking employment law and says there is "absolutely no doubt" that unions should have been consulted.

The millionaire boss of P&O Ferries has apologised to the 800 staff sacked without warning via Zoom last week as unions claimed the operator binned the ...

It is clear, just as they were due to respond to the Government, that they want everyone to think they have done the right thing. A spokesman for P&O Ferries said: 'This has been an incredibly tough decision for the business: to make this choice or face taking the company into administration. It said payouts would be linked to the period of service, and in some cases exceed £170,000. 'Over the last week, I've been speaking face-to-face to seafarers and their partners. The change signed off by Mr Grayling states: '[If] the employees concerned are members of the crew of a seagoing vessel which is registered at a port outside Great Britain... the employer shall give the notification required... British ships will cease to exist, and British ratings will cease to exist. The change signed off by Mr Grayling states: '[If] the employees concerned are members of the crew of a seagoing vessel which is registered at a port outside Great Britain... the employer shall give the notification required... We will change the law to make that happen.' Also giving evidence today, the Director of UK Maritime Services, Katy Ware, said the ship was cleared to sail to Holland yesterday without passengers or cargo. British ships will cease to exist, and British ratings will cease to exist. This is an international seafaring model that is consistent with models throughout the globe and our competitors.' He also refused to answer if he could survive on £5.50 per hour, the rate he is paying cheap foreign workers.

Grant Shapps said the chief executive of P&O Ferries should resign after his “brazen” and “breathtaking” comments about “knowingly breaking the law”.

“The P&O case must be a line in the sand. “P&O’s own study from 2012 showed moving to longer shift patterns of 2 weeks on and 2 weeks off created dangerous increases in crew fatigue. The Scottish TUC tweeted: “Bring your flags and banners, all welcome! It’s completely wrong.” It’s time to repeal all the anti-trade union laws. We have a (National) Minimum Wage Act. He said the Irish company “has done exactly this procedure already”. Start your Independent Premium subscription today. and therefore buy their silence. “This poses challenges in respect of P&O’s operations. I mean, it’s completely irresponsible. This would presumably be passed on to motorists.

Transport Secretary promises to toughen legislation and says Peter Hebblethwaite's evidence to MPs was 'brazen and breathtaking'

The whole thing is going to end up costing a lot more money because of the way they’ve gone about this. Ferry operators who failed to comply with the new laws would not be able to operate from British ports, he said, adding: “I think what’s happened is absolutely disgraceful. But Mr Shapps accused P&O of “trying to distract attention”, saying the company did not give 45 days notice to ministers and to Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng as required. Mr Shapps said P&O Ferries had flagged their ships through Cyprus which “avoided having to tell anybody” and had tried to “pay people off in such a way to buy people’s silence”. Mr Shapps said that Peter Hebblethwaite’s evidence to MPs yesterday was “brazen and breathtaking”, and the Government would change the law to block loopholes that could be “exploited” to sack workers without notice. Under the new law, P&O Ferries and other ferry operators would have to pay the minimum wage to workers, Mr Shapps said.

UK government Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has said the boss of P&O Ferries should resign after his “brazen” and “breathtaking”…

It’s simply unacceptable and we will force that to change.” Mr Shapps also said the UK government is planning to change the law to ensure companies working from British ports pay people the minimum wage. UK government Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has said the boss of P&O Ferries should resign after his “brazen” and “breathtaking” comments about “knowingly breaking the law”.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has called for the boss of P&O Ferries to resign after his “brazen” comments about “knowingly breaking…

It’s simply unacceptable and we will force that to change.” Asked who the email would have been sent to if not the transport secretary, he said: “Well, I think it was sent to a very small group of officials in order to record a conversation, the notes of a conversation that happened.” The Transport Secretary also said he he “didn’t see” an email sent round Whitehall about P&O’s plans the night before the mass sackings and was told “at the despatch box”. The minister told BBC Breakfast that maritime law was “very, very complex” but that he was preparing a package of “about eight” different measures to bring to Parliament, where he believed there was “very, very broad parliamentary agreement” that new legislation was needed. He said he had instead asked the Maritime Coastguard Agency to carry out “very detailed inspections”. “I cannot believe that he can stay in that role having admitted to deliberately go out and use a loophole – well, break the law, but also use a loophole.”

Peter Hebblethwaite admitted there was 'no doubt' his firm should have consulted unions before sacking 800 staff, but it did not.

plying regular routes between here and France or here and Holland, or (anywhere) else, and failing to pay the minimum wage. “What I’m going to do… The Rail, Maritime and Transport union said it will be meeting with P&O Ferries on Friday to demand the reinstatement of the sacked seafarers. The minister told BBC Breakfast that maritime law is “very, very complex” but he is preparing a package of “about eight” measures to bring to Parliament, where he believes there is “very, very broad parliamentary agreement” that new legislation is needed. “We are not having people working from British ports… Pressed on whether that means he is calling for Mr Hebblethwaite to resign “right now”, he said: “Yes.”

P&O Ferries: what happened to staff, who owns company, what did CEO Peter Hebblethwaite say about mass firing? P&O Ferries is owned by a different company to ...

We want to start a community among our readers, so please follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and keep the conversation going. NationalWorld is a new national news brand, produced by a team of journalists, editors, video producers and designers who live and work across the UK. Find out more about who’s who in the team, and our editorial values. “Nonetheless, a prolonged interruption to P&O services, who are an important part of UK supply chains, could eventually impact the flow of goods.

'We chose not to consult and we are - and will - compensate everybody in full for that,' ferry company boss says.

“This is an international seafaring model that is consistent with models throughout the globe and our competitors.” We did not believe there was any other way to do this to compensate people in full.’’ Mr Hebblethwaite replied by saying he wanted to start with an apology before answering the question.

MPs have been told P&O Ferries boss Peter Hebblethwaite's salary compared to that of its crews and the agency staff who have replaced them.

He continued that there was no issue between P&O and the Union, and that the two sides were due to meet about the prospect of new vessels and new staff on March 18. “I don’t know the answer to that. "There will be no ratings working in British ports. That “appears to be a breach” of employment law, and “it may be that (P&O Ferries) are liable to a prosecution”, he said. But a Government source has insisted the claim is untrue. He continued: “My understanding from what I’ve been told this morning is that the notice was given to the appropriate authorities in the countries where the ships are flagged only on the day of the dismissals and not in advance.” "The whole thing is a setup and the law in this country is a shambles. Asked if he had increased or decreased the value of the company by his actions, the ferries boss replied: “I think that P&O was otherwise going to close, and didn’t have a future.” Mr Hebblethwaite said: "An apology to seafarers that were affected on Thursday of last week, an apology to their families, an apology to the 2,200 of our employees who have had to face very difficult questions over the last week or so. “But I think P&O (has) a future and P&O that is able to be competitive, pay its own bills, and offer the customer service that is required, has a much better chance.” I’ve got to be honest I’m not focussed on that, I’m focussed on saving the business and getting the 800 seafarers new jobs.” He explained: “We assessed that given the fundamental nature of change, no union could accept it and therefore we chose not to consult because a consultation process would have been a sham.

The boss of P&O Ferries has admitted the company broke the law when it fired 800 crew without consultation but insisted he would do it again.

U.K. Transport Secretary Grant Shapps called on P&O Ferries Chief Executive Officer Peter Hebblethwaite to resign, and said he would bring in new laws to ...

Does he not watch the news? Has he ever picked up a newspaper? It's 2022, mate. If you want to tell the truth, go to Confession – not the commons.

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