Trade unions have demanded the business secretary names a date for the government’s long-overdue Employment Bill in the wake of the P&O Ferries scandal.

General secretaries from more than 30 unions including the TUC, RMT, Nautilus, Unite, Unison and GMB have written to business secretary, Kwasi Kwarteng, calling on the government to strengthen employment legislation and make sure the P&O scandal is never allowed to happen again.

The government first announced an Employment Bill more than two years ago, which was supposed to boost workers’ rights and make Britain the best place to work in the world. The TUC says that while P&O Ferries’ actions appear to be unlawful, these events show that UK employment law urgently needs strengthening to properly protect workers from unfair dismissal and penalise bad employers.

In the letter, the trade unions highlight “the callous, illegal and pre-meditated firing of 800 workers by P&O Ferries”. The unions go on to say that this “marks a new low point in UK industrial relations – and shows once again the weakness of our employment law framework in protecting working people”.

In addition to an employment bill to strengthen protections for workers, the general secretaries call on government to demand the immediate reinstatement of all sacked P&O staff with no loss of pay. They say it is vital “the government now takes all steps without delay to ensure that these workers are reinstated and bring forward emergency legislation if that is required” - and demand the suspension of “any government support for the company or its parent, DP World, to secure this".

P&O Ferries used punitive fire and rehire style tactics and exploited many of the same weaknesses in the law, according to the TUC. The letter criticises the inadequate ministerial response to the rise of fire and rehire tactics during the pandemic, which saw the government publish updated guidance on the use of the practice. The unions say that this week’s events have exposed the inadequacy of the guidance, which “is the flimsiest of defences against any employer who is determined to treat their workers with contempt”.

TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said:

“The prime minister promised to make Britain the best place to work in the world. But one of the most shameful moments in the recent history of UK industrial relations has happened on his watch. No more excuses. The government must name a date for an employment bill now. This scandal has shown the need for strengthened protections for workers – rogue employers need to know they can’t get away with treating staff like disposable labour.”

On the urgent need to reinstate sacked P&O staff, O’Grady added:

“P&O has acted appallingly. The company must reinstate its sacked staff without delay, and with no loss of pay – or face serious consequences.”

The TUC says ministers must use an employment bill to:

• End fire and rehire style practices and stop companies firing at will. TUC research published during the pandemic revealed that one in 11 (9%) workers have been forced to re-apply for their jobs on inferior terms and conditions. The law should state that no notices of dismissal can be given until consultation has been completed. Employees should be given protection from unfair dismissal from day one in the job.
• Increase penalties on companies that break employment law. Companies that flout employment law can get away with offering staff low amounts of compensation and are rarely punished in the courts.
• Ban other forms of exploitative practices. More than one million workers in the UK are employed on zero-hours contracts and thousands of others are employed in bogus self-employment.