Ellie Reeves
Main Page: Ellie Reeves (Labour - Lewisham West and Penge)Department Debates - View all Ellie Reeves's debates with the Department for Transport
(2 years ago)
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Grant Shapps
I should point out again that P&O Cruises is not in any way, shape or form related to what has happened here. It is the people at P&O Ferries who are very much in the dock. With the ferries, we will ensure that that policing takes place through HMRC and the work of the ports themselves.
Ellie Reeves (Lewisham West and Penge) (Lab)
Awards for compensation in employment tribunals are notoriously low, with average awards for unfair dismissal at just £10,800. The Secretary of State has announced an uplift of 25%, but an extra £2,700 will not deter unscrupulous employers such as P&O. My hon. Friend the Member for Sheffield, Heeley (Louise Haigh), the shadow Transport Secretary, has called for unlimited punitive damages in circumstances such as these. Will he back those calls?
Grant Shapps
The simple answer, in this case, is that we want to stop it ever getting that far and we will do that by forcing such employers to pay the minimum wage in the first place. I should clarify that we are not against the idea that sometimes, unfortunately, redundancies occur. We know that and we saw it in the pandemic. We are pleased that, after the pandemic, unemployment is as low or lower than before. We understand that business has to change, but it is unacceptable to deliberately set out to break the law when it comes to consultations, and that is what we are focusing on. These nine measures will ensure that we do not get there in the first place and that more punitive measures are in place.