P&O Ferries CEO awarded 55% salary hike following mass layoff of 800 employees

The head of P&O Ferries received £683,000 in the financial year following the company’s controversial dismissal of nearly 800 workers, most of whom were British.

The payout, disclosed in long-overdue 2023 accounts obtained by *CuriosityNews* and ITV News, reflects a 55% increase for Peter Hebblethwaite, the highest-earning director at the firm. The accounts also revealed annual losses exceeding £90m.

In 2022, the highest-paid director received £440,000, but that individual has since left the company.

Hebblethwaite told a parliamentary committee last year that his base salary was £325,000 and confirmed he had accepted a £183,000 bonus in 2023. During questioning, he faced accusations of acting unethically toward employees.

“I considered whether to accept the payment but ultimately decided to do so,” he told lawmakers. “I understand not everyone would agree with my choice.”

The raise is expected to draw criticism, as it follows P&O Ferries’ 2022 decision to terminate 786 employees and replace them with cheaper agency workers paid well below the UK minimum wage.

Hebblethwaite admitted last year that the lowest-paid workers received less than £5 an hour. However, months earlier, the company had disputed claims of such low wages, stating that no crew members earned below £5.20 hourly.

The accounts, which were due nine months ago, are expected to be made public shortly. They reveal a pre-tax loss of £91.4m for 2023, a significant improvement from the £249.4m loss in 2022. The audit was conducted by a small firm after P&O’s previous accounting partner resigned.

Hebblethwaite has maintained that without the 2022 layoffs and reduced pay rates for agency hires, the company would have collapsed.

Passenger numbers fell sharply, dropping to 4.6 million in 2023 compared to 8.4 million in 2018.

At the time of Hebblethwaite’s testimony, UK minimum wage laws did not cover maritime workers employed by foreign agencies on overseas-registered ships. P&O’s pay structure was legal under this loophole.

Since then, the UK and France have introduced laws to enforce minimum wage requirements for seafarers, likely raising costs for the ferry operator. P&O has stated it will comply with all legal regulations moving forward.