On Thursday 17th March, P&O ferries sacked all 800 staff members and outlined plans to replace these workers with cheaper agency staff. The sacking resulted in P&O Ferries entire fleet not sailing on Thursday and is sure to have more major implications down the line. However, it’s not the first mass-sacking the UK has seen in recent times, with British Airways and British Gas following a similar fire and rehire method since the start of the pandemic 2 years ago. For my blog this week, I wanted to summarise my thoughts on this leadership style and comment on the implications this can have on workers.
P&O’s mass-sacking has been branded as a “scandalous betrayal” in a time of uncertainty. The decision has caused mass outrage within staff unions, with calls for legal action in order to gain support for the staff members affected. It is reported that the staff members were informed of their sacking via video, which in my opinion is unprofessional and completely disregards the hard work that these staff members have put in throughout the pandemic. Moreover, this decision impacts the customers of P&O Ferries with major disruptions predicted for at least the next 10 days. On top of all of that, P&O have just majorly damaged their reputation, with many members of the public siding with the staff I assume many will choose to use other ferry providers or opt to use alternative methods of transport such as the Eurotunnel. I believe that in a post-pandemic world we have become more understanding of others, and I personally have become much more hyper-aware that everyone becomes impacted by things in different ways. By sacking their staff, it is not only the staff who will directly be affected, but subsequently their families and children.
Even though this mass sacking was completely legal, I can’t help but feel like it is majorly unethical. I am in no doubt that the decision would have been massively difficult to make, and it does seem necessary due to the reported £100million loss P&O have suffered over the last few years. However, when looking at this situation from a PR perspective, it should have been handled better. When looking to sack that many staff members, it is always going to be a public affair. Therefore, the internal communications need to be handled as if they are public. If P&O were honest in the reason why this mass sacking was happening, and provided a suitable redundancy package to staff members it may have been accepted more. Moreover, P&O could have made the decision to show their appreciation to their most loyal staff members by keeping on some staff members who have worked for them for a long time.