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If you have any questions or need any support please contact the Branch Office

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BARNET’S CLEANERS FORCED TO WAIT 12 DAYS FOR WAGES THEY HAVE ALREADY EARNED

Austerity, Insourcing, News, Solidarity

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

BARNET’S CLEANERS FORCED TO WAIT 12 DAYS FOR WAGES THEY HAVE ALREADY EARNED

Barnet UNISON demands action from councillors and MPs as Norse Group — a Local Authority Trading Company owned by Norfolk County Council

Barnet UNISON, representing workers across the London Borough of Barnet, is calling on Labour councillors and MPs to urgently intervene after Norse Group imposed a pay arrangement that forces cleaners to wait 12 days after completing four weeks of work before receiving their wages.

Norse Group, owned by Norfolk County Council, was awarded the contract to clean Barnet Council’s buildings. The company’s own 2025/2026 pay schedule — obtained by Barnet UNISON — confirms, without a single exception across all 17 pay periods, a uniform 12-day gap between the end of every working period and every payday. By the time a cleaner is paid, they are already nearly a fortnight into their next four-week working period.

These are London Living Wage workers in one of the most expensive cities in the world. At any given moment, Norse is holding approximately six weeks’ worth of earned wages that belong to our members.

Helen Davies, Branch Chair of Barnet UNISON, said:

“These cleaners get up before dawn to clean the Council’s own buildings. They work four weeks. Then they have to wait another 12 days for money that is rightfully theirs. In the meantime, they cannot pay their rent, their travel costs, their energy bills. They are being forced into overdrafts and debt to cover basic living costs while Norse sits on their wages.

“Norse told us this is about payroll compliance. That is not credible. The reality is that these workers — the lowest paid in public services — are being made to finance Norse’s payroll processing. Their solution was to offer our members a loan. We rejected that with contempt. You should not have to take a loan to access wages you have already earned.

“This is happening under a contract commissioned by Barnet Council. Labour councillors and Labour MPs have the power to act. After last week’s elections and the Prime Minister’s own words about fighting for working people who have been let down, we expect them to use it.”

The detriment to workers is concrete and serious:

  • Workers on the London Living Wage cannot meet rent, bills, and travel costs on the dates they fall due because 12 days of earned wages are withheld
  • Workers on Universal Credit face assessment period distortions caused by the irregular pay timing, causing fluctuating UC awards they depend upon
  • Workers are pushed into overdraft and high-cost credit to cover living costs in the gap between earning and receiving their wages
  • Norse’s proposal that new starters take credit union loans was firmly rejected by UNISON — workers should not go into debt to access money they have earned

Norse’s justification does not stand up. The company has argued that its payroll arrangement is required for compliance with HMRC’s National Minimum Wage framework. Barnet UNISON rejects this entirely. The NMW classification of “time work” determines how minimum wage compliance is calculated — it says nothing about how many days after a period ends an employer may delay payment. Thousands of hourly-paid workers across the public and private sectors are paid within five days of a period’s end. A 12-day lag is a commercial choice, not a legal requirement.

Barnet UNISON is calling for:

  1. Labour councillors and MPs to write formally to Norse Group demanding the pay lag be reduced to a maximum of five working days from period end
  2. Barnet Council to review whether the Norse contract complies with its obligations under the Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012
  3. A commitment from Barnet’s Labour administration that when the Norse contract expires in 2027, the cleaning service will be brought back in-house, with workers employed directly by the Council on proper terms and conditions
  4. Public support from Labour councillors and MPs for the Barnet UNISON petition, which is being formally launched this week

Background:

Norse Group is the largest Local Authority Trading Company in the country, generating profit for its shareholder, Norfolk County Council, through service contracts with other councils. Barnet UNISON has held two formal meetings with Norse management. On both occasions the company refused to change the pay arrangement. Barnet UNISON has also written previously to the Leader of Barnet Council and to all Labour councillors, without the response this situation demands.

The Prime Minister, in his speech to Labour members on 11 May 2026, acknowledged that “for working people, tired of a status quo that has failed them, change cannot come quickly enough.” For Barnet’s cleaners, change means being paid promptly for work they have done. That is not an unreasonable demand.

ENDS

For media enquiries contact: contactus@barnetunison.org.uk

Notes to Editors:

  • Norse Group is a Local Authority Trading Company wholly owned by Norfolk County Council, operating across the country through contracts with local authorities
  • The Norse Group 2025/2026 pay schedule, obtained by Barnet UNISON, shows a consistent 12-day gap between period end and payday across all 17 pay periods in the schedule
  • The current Norse cleaning contract with the London Borough of Barnet is due to expire in 2027
  • Barnet UNISON represents over 3,000 members working across Barnet Council, schools, FE colleges, depots, care services, and contracted services
  • The London Living Wage is set annually by the Living Wage Foundation and is higher than the statutory National Living Wage

Barnet UNISON condemns “back door privatisation” of Passenger Escort service and escalates dispute to meeting with Chief Executive

Austerity, Insourcing, Local, News, Solidarity, UNISON Campaign

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Barnet UNISON condemns “back door privatisation” of Passenger Escort service and escalates dispute to meeting with Chief Executive

Barnet UNISON has escalated its concerns about the future of Passenger Escorts at Barnet Council after formally registering a failure to agree with management.

The union says the Council has been cutting directly employed Passenger Assistant posts and using external provision instead, without proper transparency or meaningful consultation with UNISON.

Management have confirmed that vacancies were not being refilled and that part of the service requirement was being met through externally commissioned Passenger Assistants. Barnet UNISON says this amounts to back door privatisation of a vital frontline service supporting children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities.

The union has now referred the matter to the Joint Negotiation and Consultation Group, where it will be raised with the Chief Executive.

A Barnet UNISON spokesperson said:

“We have had enough outsourcing in Barnet. We are opposed to back door privatisation and we do not accept low-paid women being made to carry the burden of yet more austerity and hardship.

This is happening in the middle of the worst cost of living crisis in a lifetime, in one of the most expensive cities in the world. It is wrong.

Passenger Escorts do difficult, responsible and essential work supporting children with special needs. They deserve decent pay, decent terms and conditions, access to a pension, proper training, proper management support and the security of direct employment by the Council.

Barnet UNISON has formally escalated this matter to a meeting with the Chief Executive because council jobs should stay council jobs. We will not stand by while low-paid frontline services are hollowed out by stealth.”

Barnet UNISON is calling on Barnet Council to:

  • provide a full and accurate breakdown of the current Passenger Assistant workforce across the service, including how many are directly employed by LBB, how many are agency, and how many are employed by contractors or commissioned providers
  • stop any further erosion of directly employed Passenger Assistant posts
  • begin recruiting Passenger Escorts directly to Barnet Council posts rather than relying on agency or external arrangements
  • return Passenger Escorts to direct management under the Passenger Transport Service
  • ensure Passenger Escorts have decent pay, decent terms and conditions, pension access, proper training and proper support to carry out this essential role

Barnet UNISON says the issue is not just about staffing numbers. It is about fairness, accountability and the future of public services in Barnet.

Ends

For media enquiries contact: contactus@barnetunison.org.uk

Barnet UNISON response: working people must come first

National, News, Solidarity, UNISON Campaign

UNISON General Secretary Andrea Egan has issued a clear message: working people cannot be treated as an afterthought.

For Barnet UNISON members, this speaks directly to what we are seeing every day in our workplaces. Our members are dealing with the cost-of-living crisis, rising rents, food bills, debt, stress, unsafe staffing levels and services under pressure. Too many workers delivering public services are still low paid, outsourced, denied decent pensions and left on inferior terms and conditions.

That has to change.

Andrea’s message is important because it says clearly that politics must return to its basic purpose: improving the lives of working people. That means proper pay restoration for public service workers. It means investment in councils, schools, care, housing, cleaning, transport, social work and all the services our communities rely on. It means ending the failed model of outsourcing, where public money is siphoned away from services while workers are left on poorer pay, poorer pensions and poorer conditions.

In Barnet, we know exactly what outsourcing has meant. It has meant low-paid workers being pushed to the margins. It has meant cleaners, care workers, housing workers, parking workers, security staff, catering workers and others being treated differently from directly employed staff, even though they are delivering public services for our community.

Barnet UNISON’s position is simple: public services should be delivered by properly paid, properly supported, directly employed public service workers.

We welcome Andrea Egan’s call for radical change because our members cannot wait. The cost-of-living crisis is not an abstract political debate. It is the daily reality of workers choosing between bills, food, travel and supporting their families. It is the stress members bring into work every day. It is the reason we are campaigning on pay, pensions, equal pay, holiday pay, insourcing and better terms and conditions.

Barnet UNISON will continue to organise, campaign and speak up for our members. We will not be silent when low-paid workers are struggling. We will not accept outsourcing as normal. We will not accept public services being run down while workers are told to do more with less.

The message from our General Secretary is clear: working people must come first.

That is our message too.

Barnet UNISON will keep fighting for:

  • fair pay and pay restoration
  • equal pay for low-paid women workers
  • insourcing of outsourced services
  • decent pensions for all public service workers
  • proper staffing levels
  • safe workplaces
  • dignity and respect at work
  • public services run for people, not profit

Our members built these services. Our members keep them running. Our members deserve better.

Barnet UNISON will continue to put working people first.

End.

Background: 

Opinion: I want Labour to succeed, but that means radical change

The NEC By-Election is On. VOTE NOW!

National, News, UNISON Campaign

Barnet UNISON nominated Liz Wheatley

By now you should have received an envelope with the words “Civica Election Services” on it. This is your ballot paper. Please do not throw it away but Vote NOW!

From Thursday 14 May you can contact the helpline: 0800 0857 857 If you have not received your ballot paper.

Members with hearing difficulties can use textphone 0800 0 967 968.

This helpline closes 12noon 21st May

Deadline for voting is Friday 5pm 29th May!

We nominated Liz Wheatley because:

Liz is Branch Secretary of Camden UNISON, and was a regional rep on UNISON’s NEC from 2019-2025.

Liz has organised successful strikes – Camden traffic wardens winning a £5,000 pay increase. Camden is currently fighting for more pay for Teaching Assistants, with strike action taking place in schools currently in the London borough.

Liz is committed to an organising union and says,

“I was proud to support Andrea Egan to be our General Secretary. I am committed to working closely with her to bring about the changes necessary for UNISON to be a union that stands up to the bosses and politicians when they try to cut the services we provide, the wages we deserve or attack working class people.

“No longer should we put the interests of the Labour Party first; UNISON members must be our priority. We need a UNISON where branches and activists get the organising support and resources they need, and we deliver real wins for members.”

 She has also stood with Barnet UNISON on many of our picket lines and events.

End.

BARNET HOMES & YCB BALLOTS OPEN: TBG WORKERS VOTE ON NEXT STEPS IN PAY AND PENSION FIGHT

Anti - Racism, Austerity, Barnet Group, Barnet Homes, Cost of Living Crisis, Insourcing, Local, London Living Wage, News, Pensions, Repairs, TBG Flex, UNISON Campaign, Your Choice Barnet

Housing and care workers employed by Barnet Council-owned TBG say “we can’t keep absorbing the cost of living crisis”

Barnet UNISON has opened two separate consultative ballots for members employed by The Barnet Group (TBG) — the council-owned company that delivers key services on behalf of the London Borough of Barnet.

The ballots cover:

  • Barnet Homes (Housing Services) workers, and
  • Your Choice Barnet (Adult Social Care) care and support workers.

The ballots follow TBG’s rejection of UNISON’s claims on pay, terms and conditions, and access to the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS). UNISON says the vote is needed to show management — and the council as owner and commissioner — that workers expect a serious response to the cost of living crisis.

A Barnet Homes housing worker said :

“People think housing is just admin. It isn’t. You’re dealing with residents in crisis, rising workload and constant pressure. Then you go home and you’re doing the same sums everyone else is doing — rent, bills, travel, food — and it doesn’t add up. The stress doesn’t switch off. It affects your head, your sleep, your family.”

A Your Choice Barnet care worker said :

“We support vulnerable adults every day. It’s physical work and it takes a toll mentally as well. But the hardest part is knowing you’re working flat out and still worrying about money — choosing between basics, falling behind, borrowing, trying to hold it together for your kids. This isn’t sustainable.”

Helen Davies, Barnet UNISON Branch Chair and UNISON SGE representative for London, said:

“These workers keep essential housing and care services running in one of the most expensive cities in the world. They are not asking for the moon — they are asking for fairness: decent pay, decent terms and access to LGPS. TBG is owned by Barnet Council, and Barnet Council cannot wash its hands of what happens to the workforce delivering its services. The ballots are open because members’ voices must be heard — and because the current situation is pushing too many working families towards hardship.”

Call to action:
Barnet UNISON is urging all eligible members in Barnet Homes and Your Choice Barnet to take part and return their ballot papers.

For media enquiries: contactus@barnetunison.org.uk

TBG rejects UNISON cost-of-living claims for housing and care workers

Anti - Racism, Austerity, Barnet Group, Barnet Homes, Housing, Insourcing, Local, News, Pensions, Solidarity, TBG Flex, UNISON Campaign, Your Choice Barnet

Employer admits financial pressure — but refuses pay, terms and LGPS improvements for Barnet Homes and Your Choice Barnet staff.

Barnet UNISON has received The Barnet Group’s formal response to our pay, terms and pension claims for workers in Barnet Homes (housing services) and Your Choice Barnet (adult social care). The headline is clear: TBG has rejected the claims.

These are frontline workers keeping essential services running in one of the most expensive cities in the world — supporting vulnerable adults, dealing with housing pressures, and carrying rising workloads. UNISON submitted the claims because members are being squeezed hard by the ongoing cost-of-living crisis and years of pay falling behind real living costs.

Key points from TBG’s response

  • TBG says Your Choice Barnet is forecasting a £824k loss this year and will have negative retained earnings rising to £2.048m.
  • TBG says Barnet Homes’ management fee will be cut by £2.763m (6%) from April 2026, and argues this limits what it can agree.
  • TBG has costed the key parts of the union claim and still concludes it is “not able to agree”.
  • Their own figures show a £15/hour minimum for Barnet Homes would cost £14,150 and affect 27 staff — yet they still refuse the claim overall.

Helen Davies, Barnet UNISON Branch Chair and UNISON SGE rep, said:

“Our members are not numbers on a spreadsheet. They are the housing workers and care staff holding services together every day. TBG’s response is basically ‘we can’t’ — while staff are being asked to cope with rising prices and worsening pressure at work. That’s not good enough. If these services matter, the workforce has to be treated with basic fairness: decent pay, decent terms, and a proper pension.”

What happens next

Barnet UNISON will now consult members on the employer’s response and the next steps in our campaign.

Read TBG full response here: https://www.barnetunison.me.uk/wp/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/2026.03.24-TBG-response-to-Barnet-UNISON-Cost-of-Living-Crisis-claims.pdf

 

End.

Update on Pay Negotiations with TBG

Austerity, Barnet Group, Barnet Homes, Cost of Living Crisis, Housing, Local, News, Pensions, Solidarity, UNISON Campaign

Barnet UNISON recently met with senior representatives from The Barnet Group (TBG) to discuss our 2024/25 pay and terms & conditions claim covering members in YCB and Barnet Homes.

At the meeting, TBG outlined what they describe as significant financial pressures across both organisations. They highlighted:

  • Very small projected operating surpluses for the coming year
  • Accumulated losses within YCB
  • Ongoing pressures linked to council funding and the Housing Revenue Account
  • Market challenges within residential care, including difficulties cross-subsidising council placements

They also referenced a recent external benchmarking review of extra care services, which they say shows TBG offering comparatively generous terms and conditions relative to parts of the wider care market.

UNISON’s Position

We made clear that our claim reflects the reality members are living through:

  • The cost of living crisis continues to hit housing and care workers hard.
  • Pay compression over many years has left many members feeling worse off in real terms.
  • In care services in particular, financial strain is severe, with some members telling us they are struggling to meet basic costs.

We emphasised that Barnet Homes and YCB do not function without their workforce. Any discussion about sustainability must include fair and sustainable pay for staff.

We also made clear that TBG is not bound by national NJC negotiations. That is why we have formally submitted our full claim locally and expect meaningful negotiation on all elements.

What Happens Next

TBG has committed to providing full costings for the outstanding elements of our claim, including pension implications. We expect that information before 24 March.

Once negotiations are exhausted, members will be consulted on the employer’s response. That would be a consultative ballot — not a strike ballot — allowing members to decide whether the offer is acceptable or whether further action is required.

This is a challenging negotiation. We recognise the financial arguments being made by the employer — but we also recognise the very real financial pressures our members are facing.

We will continue to press your case firmly and constructively.

Further updates will follow once we receive TBG’s full response.

End.

 

 

End of an Era: Barnet UNISON Calls for Revenues & Benefits to Be Brought Back In-House as Capita Era Closes

Austerity, Insourcing, Local, National, News, Solidarity, UNISON Campaign

Barnet UNISON has today called on Barnet Council’s Cabinet Committee to seize what it describes as a “historic moment” for the borough by bringing the Revenues & Benefits service back under direct council control.

After 13 years of Capita delivering major council services under the previous Conservative administration’s One Barnet outsourcing programme, the remaining contracts are now approaching expiry in September 2026.

“This is the end of an era in Barnet,” said John Burgess, Branch Secretary of Barnet UNISON.
“For 13 years the Council has relied on a mass outsourcing model. It has been controversial, heavily scrutinised and widely debated. Now Members have the opportunity to take a different direction.”

The Cabinet Committee on 24 February is being asked to approve steps that would allow new outsourced contracts to be awarded for the remaining services, including Revenues & Benefits — the service responsible for Council Tax and Business Rates collection and key elements of income recovery.

Barnet UNISON’s report argues that Revenues & Benefits is too fundamental to the Council’s financial resilience and too central to residents’ lives to sit outside direct public control.

“This is not a back-office technical function,” Burgess said.
“It is the service that determines how council income is secured and how arrears are managed. It affects every household in Barnet. Decisions about income collection and recovery should be democratically accountable — not managed through contract monitoring and improvement plans.”

The union’s submission highlights that council reports continue to reference collection pressures and governance mechanisms to manage risk. Barnet UNISON argues that monitoring contractors is not the same as having direct operational control over a core sovereign income function.

“After 13 years, this is the moment to draw a line under One Barnet,” Burgess added.
“Labour now has the opportunity to restore direct council control over a vital public service and demonstrate that public income functions belong in the public sector.”

Barnet UNISON is urging Cabinet Committee to:

  • Reject further outsourcing of Revenues & Benefits
  • Instruct officers to prepare an in-house delivery plan
  • Confirm that income generation and recovery policy should sit directly within the Council

“This decision will shape Barnet for years to come,” Burgess said.
“We believe this is the right moment to bring Revenues & Benefits home.”

ENDS

 

Holiday Pay Update: Talks Paused Until Barnet Council Provides Key Information

Austerity, Cost of Living Crisis, Local, News, UNISON Campaign

Talks with the London Borough of Barnet (LBB) on holiday pay have currently paused because UNISON is still waiting for the Council to provide some basic information about how it is working out holiday pay for staff who regularly work overtime.

This matters because holiday pay is not just a routine payroll issue — it affects real money in members’ pockets. UNISON is determined to get this right. We do not want to sign off any arrangement and later discover it does not meet the legal requirements. That would risk further underpayments and create unnecessary disputes that we are trying to avoid.

We have told LBB that as soon as the Council provides the information, we will share it promptly with UNISON’s legal advisers so we can confirm whether the approach is lawful and properly covers all Barnet workers who work overtime — including staff in community schools.

If the approach is confirmed as lawful, we will move straight on to negotiating back pay. UNISON’s starting position is that this issue should have been addressed years ago, and we will be pressing for back pay to go back as far as possible.

When LBB reaches a final offer, we will share the details with members and consult on whether you want to accept the compensation payment. The final outcome will depend on your feedback once you can see what the payment looks like. Please keep an eye out for further updates

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