A chef who was suddenly sacked by P&O Ferries is reportedly suing the company and its chief executive for £76 million. John Lansdown, 39, joined P&O Ferries as a 16-year-old trainee before progressing as a sous chef on The Pride of Canterbury but was one of the 800 staff to be sacked without notice last month, according to The Mirror.
Mr Lansdown, from Herne Bay in Kent, is the only seafarer to take legal action against P&O, claiming unfair dismissal, racial discrimination and harassment. He is claiming racial discrimination due to being replaced by non-British crew who were paid around £5.50 an hour less than the minimum wage, believing his nationality came into the redundancy decision.
In the claim against P&O Ferries and chief executive Peter Hebblethwaite to London South employment tribunal, Mr Lansdown is seeking a six-figure compensation due to loss of earnings and injury to feelings. The figure of £76 million is targeted at the large profits gained by P&O's parent company Dubai Ports World (DP World) in a bid to "deter" either company from conducting a "fire and hire" policy in the future.
