P&O dismissal controversy

On 17 March 2022, shipping company P&O Ferries dismissed 800 members of its shipping staff, primarily from the Port of Dover, but also from Kingston upon Hull, Liverpool and Cairnryan. The decision was met with much criticism from both sides of the political divide, particularly as a result of the speed and immediacy of the crews' termination notices, which in some cases consisted of a video call or text message, terminating their employment "with immediate effect". Also of concern was the fact that the crews were intended to be replaced with cheaper agency labour. The two main trades unions involved – the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) and Nautilus International – called for a boycott of the company and organised protests around the ports, but also outside parliament. P&O explained that for some time their business model had been impractical, resulting in losses of £100 million per annum, and that they needed to drastically reduce the wage bill to become profitable. Conversely, critics argued that the parent company, DP World, had paid out large dividends the previous year of £270 million, and had also made claims under the UK government's furlough scheme during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The British government criticised the company's actions and stated that it was looking at the legal ramifications, including whether P&O could be fined, and how other contracts it held with DP World were affected. The legal community was generally critical of P&O for seemingly ignoring UK employment law, and several law firms commented on the likelihood of any crew members' potential employment tribunal claim being successful on a number of grounds. For its part, P&O argued that to have followed the suggested consultation and other processes would have caused even more trauma to both their own staff and the broader UK tourist industry.