According to the Insolvency Service, P&O Ferries won’t be prosecuted for how it terminated over 800 employees earlier this year.
In March, the company fired employees without giving them a reason, and they were replaced with foreign agency workers who were paid less than the UK minimum wage.
According to the government agency, there was “no realistic likelihood of a conviction” following a “full and vigorous criminal investigation.”
There is still an open civil probe.
Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng requested an urgent investigation from the Insolvency Service to see whether any laws had been broken.
A representative for the Insolvency Service stated: “We have concluded that we will not initiate criminal proceedings after a complete and robust criminal investigation into the circumstances surrounding the employees who were made redundant by P&O Ferries.”
According to the spokesman, it was determined that there was “no realistic chance of a conviction” after conducting a criminal investigation that was examined by an independent senior prosecution counsel.
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According to a government spokesperson , P&O Ferries not only acted callously in firing 800 committed employees immediately, but it also fell short of the high standards we demand of British companies.
It’s incredibly disheartening that the firm won’t face criminal charges given their abhorrent behaviour.
The administration won’t make any further comments until the civil inquiry is finished, the spokeswoman continued.
The Nautilus union, which advocates for seafarers, described the decision as “very regrettable” and predicted that the fired employees will be “frustrated and angry” over it.
Only one day after P&O Ferries’ parent company reported record profits, casting doubt on the corporation’s claims of operational sustainability, Mark Dickinson, general secretary of Nautilus, said, “We are further let down by a system that fails to punish evident criminal corporatism.”
Unions and politicians expressed concern over P&O’s decision to fire 786 employees without cause, prompting calls for the resignation of the company’s CEO, Peter Hebblethwaite.
Mr. Hebblethwaite told MPs that he infringed the law by failing to consult workers, but he insisted that he would follow the same procedure again if necessary.
No union would have approved the proposal, according to him, and paying employees “in full” was simpler.
He expressed regret for the suffering the layoffs had caused, but insisted that they were necessary to salvage the company.
Through a pre-recorded video message, some employees learned they were no longer employed.
