Update on the Barnet UNISON Term Time Pay Campaign
Dear members,
Firstly, I hope you, your family and friends are keeping well and have been coping through this protracted period of anxiety and isolation caused by Covid19.
Owing to the virus, Barnet UNISON’s work regarding the term-time pay dispute was temporarily curtailed. This impacted my job as campaign organiser.
I am pleased to tell you that I am now able to resume my union role.
Barnet UNISON remains committed to trying to gain the best possible outcome for all members who have been discriminated against as a result of the incorrect formula being used to calculate your pay.
Many of you have already completed and submitted a hard copy of the CASE form that we have passed on to the union’s solicitors who are dealing with this collective grievance.
There are, however, lots of members who did not respond to our previous communications or complete a form.
This may be because I was unable to secure a meeting in your school prior to lockdown owing to a lack of response from school management. Our branch Secretary, John Burgess, sent letters to all Head Teachers and members but we did not receive responses from everyone. In addition, growing concerns around the virus began to interrupt my work towards the end of February.
Action Plan:
- The branch will commence a series of regular monthly updates on the campaign so please check your emails.
- I will be making as much contact with members as I can to advise and guide you, and help you submit a CASE form to our solicitors.
- Your particular school may have already rectified the formula and back-dated pay for a specific period of time. If this applies to you please let me know.
- Accepting any changes to your pay does not in itself prohibit you from submitting a claim. However, we advise you against signing anything until you have sought advice from UNISON.
There is no guarantee that the branch will win exactly what we aim for on your behalf but there is strength in numbers. The more members who decide to make a claim as part of the collective grievance, the greater our chances of success.
I am unlikely to be able to visit any schools for the foreseeable future because of the rules regarding gatherings and social distancing. Now is, therefore, the time for you to organise yourselves. Please consider acting as a workplace convenor or co-convenor with one of your colleagues.
We have created a streamlined CASE form for completion online. You simply need to populate it and return as an attachment by email. I will be sharing detailed guidance on this soon. Please note, we are now unable to process paper copies of the form as we are not operating from the branch office.
If you require any further advice prior to the next communication from the branch, you can email me.
Take care & stay safe.
Kind Regards
Nadia Joseph
Term Time Pay Organiser
Barnet UNISON