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