National Disability History Month 16th November to 16th December

15th November 2023 admin Barnet Group, Disability, Local, National, UNISON Campaign

Dear Barnet Group Unison member,

Do you have a disability?

If so, have you ‘declared’ it to the employer?

If you haven’t, please consider doing so – the employer can’t make reasonable adjustments in line with the Equality Act 2010 if they don’t know that you have a disability or condition.

It is really easy to ‘declare’ a disability – go to ITrent – click ‘view profile’ – under ‘confidential information’ click on ‘sensitive information’ – scroll to the bottom of the page and populate ‘self-certified disabled’ and ‘Disability description’ – and that is it – should your disability become an issue that you need a bit of help with, you would have ‘declared’ the disability/condition and the employer has to recognize that you may need to have reasonable adjustments put in place to help you.

Please consider declaring your illness/disability/condition – there is no stigma – I speak as someone with a long-term mental health issue [depression] who has declared their disability to the employer – the declaration is in complete confidence – and the help that I received and still receive to ‘manage’ my depression was only possible because my disability had been declared.

I have a disability – I am not disabled.

In solidarity

Patrick

Patrick Hunter

Barnet UNISON Assistant Branch Secretary for The Barnet Group

UNISON National Disability History Month event

27 November 20236:00pm–8:30pm

We’re holding a national event to celebrate Disability History Month and we’d love it if you could make it to London for it – or join us online!

The event will see the launch of our campaign for a new two-week deadline for reasonable adjustment requests. It takes place from 6pm on Monday 27 November at the UNISON Centre in London.

We’ll have some great speakers including Dr Marie Tidball, Labour parliamentary candidate for Penistone & Stockbridge and Bruce Robin, UNISON Legal Officer. There’ll also be a reception afterwards and a chance to speak to other disabled members about the campaign.

If you need support if you would like to travel to the event. Please contact the Barnet UNISON office at Contactus@barnetunison.org.uk

You can also join online –

Links to register:

Breaking News: Urgent: Mental Health Social Work Crisis increases to 66%

15th November 2023 admin Anti - Racism, Austerity, Local, News, Recruitment, Solidarity, Trades Dispute, UNISON Campaign

pictures of 4 social workers

“66% of Mental Health social workers in post since 1 January 2023 will have left Barnet Council within the space of last 12 months”.

Day 76 day since UNISON issued Barnet Council with official notice of strike action for Mental Health social workers working across three acute Mental Health social work teams.

To date there has been no approach from Barnet Council to try and reach a resolution despite UNISON proposing several possible solutions.

Today, Barnet UNISON was informed that another one of our strikers had handed in their notice. This means that in the space of 11 months of 2023 16 social workers will have left the Mental Health Teams involved in this dispute.

What has alarmed our members has been the ‘macho approach’ to this dispute. Instead of seeking to find a way to resolve the escalating social work crisis management have taken a strategic approach which amounts to ‘burying their heads in the sand’ with the hope that it will all go away. The following statement was reported in Community Care Magazine 31 October 2023:

“In a statement to Community Care, Barnet’s cabinet member for adult social care, Paul Edwards, said that 30 of the 31 posts were already filled, by 26 permanent staff and four locums.”

The above statement implies that there are 31 social work posts across the 3 Mental Health Social Work Teams. This is incorrect there are in fact only 21 social work posts across the three social work teams which means that with the 14 staff already gone that represented 66% of the social workers in employment on 1 January 2023 had left the above teams before UNISON issued the strike notice on 1 September.

Another two more social workers have handed in their notice, meaning that 66% of the social workers in post since 1 January 2023.

The question UNISON has for Barnet Council is this:

“How many more social workers need to hand in their notice before you come to the negotiating table?”

The only people who lose are Mental Health service users living in the London Borough of Barnet where there is a 15-month waiting list.

The clock is ticking.

End.

BreakingNEWS: National Pay 2023 update

13th November 2023 admin Austerity, National, UNISON Campaign

Dear Barnet UNISON member

We can confirm that the National Pay Award has now been formally agreed. This means that Barnet Council workers should receive their new rate of pay and back dating to 1 April 2023 in their November payslip.

If you have worked any overtime since the 1 April 2023, the backdating for this will be paid in December payroll.

If you have any questions, please email contactus@barnetunison.org.uk

Old and NEW rates of are in YELLOW Pay.

*****Please NOTE: For those Barnet UNISON members whose employer does not use Barnet Council Grading system please read guidance below which provides the new spinal column points for outer London pay rates.

https://www.barnetunison.me.uk/wp/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/2023.11.02-National-Pay-Agreement-with-the-London-pay-spine.pdf

End.

Barnet UNISON – eNews 09 November 2023

9th November 2023 admin Uncategorised

Click the above image to read Barnet UNISON-eNews 09 November 2023

London Living Wage Week: Barnet UNISON message to employers is “Pay Up Now!”

8th November 2023 admin Barnet Group, Care & Support, Local, London Living Wage, Your Choice Barnet

London Living Wage Week: Barnet UNISON message to employers is:

“Pay Up Now!”

This week is London Living Wage for more details of the campaign please go to https://www.livingwage.org.uk/living-wage-week

As soon as Barnet UNISON heard the new rate had changed from £11.95 to £13.15 an hour we contacted the Leader of Barnet Council, Chief Executive of Barnet Council and Chief Executive of The Barnet Group to ask what they are doing to ensure that all contractors adopt the new pay rate.

Last week we heard that the Chief Executive of The Barnet Group has sent a message to staff stating:
“We have made a commitment to pay the London living wage if we can afford to, to comply with the Living Wage Foundation accreditation it needs to be implemented by 1^st May 2024.”

We already know from a survey of our members that pay is the one biggest issues. We are in the worst Cost Of Living Crisis in 76 years, things are not getting better, they are getting worse.

Barnet UNISON will shortly be conducting a mass consultation pay ballot with our members which will ask two questions.

1. Do you think you should wait until 1 May 2024, or should you be given the new pay rate now?

2. If you want the pay now and management refuse to pay, are you prepared to take strike action? Yes or No?

The choice of what we do next will be from our members. We are a branch that does support its members as we saw last year with the Barnet Ten strikes and now, we have social workers on strike about pay.

Whatever happens, you the members will decide what we do next.

We will be organising meetings in workplaces and a big online meeting to discuss this issue.

If you want to book a meeting on pay or would like more information about the mass consultation pay ballot email us at contactus@barnetunison.org.uk

Barnet Unison- eNews 03 November 2023

3rd November 2023 admin Uncategorised

Click above image to read Barnet UNISON eNews 03 November 2023

Community Care interviews Barnet UNISON social worker strikers

31st October 2023 admin Anti - Racism, Austerity, Local, News, Solidarity, UNISON Campaign

Join Brighton & Hove & Barnet UNISON social worker picket lines ONLINE Tues 7 Nov 12- 1pm

30th October 2023 admin Anti - Racism, Austerity, Local, News, Recruitment, Trades Dispute, UNISON Campaign

This is an invitation from Barnet and Brighton & Hove UNISON inviting supporters to attend our Online Solidarity Social Worker picket lines on

Tuesday 7 November 12- 1pm

Here is the link for the meeting 👇👇👇

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87914968590?pwd=dDV1NFd5VkJZRUxwQmZYeG5GWkRmdz09

Meeting ID: 879 1496 8590

We will have live feed from the picket lines in Brighton and Barnet.

We are in the worst cost of living crisis in 76 years and our members have had enough.

End.

Statement from Mental Health social workers in Barnet

26th October 2023 admin Uncategorised

We are deeply disappointed that despite two years of social workers raising increasing concerns regarding the safety and sustainability of mental health social care, Barnet Council continues to deny that there is a recruitment and retention problem in mental health social work.

42% of social workers within the Mental Health Social Care Service have left within the past year whilst more still have formal plans to leave the teams within the next few months, meaning this figure is closer to 50%. Furthermore, the majority of workers who have left have been those with by far the most experience, with many of these workers previously working their entire careers in mental health services within Barnet. When looking at information regarding the mental health experience of permanent staff members, one team has lost 75% of the experience within their team in less than one year. The result is that social workers who are recently qualified make up the bulk of the teams.

The loss of experienced social workers has significantly contributed to increasingly high waiting lists. The Local Government & Social Care Ombudsman consider it reasonable for a person to wait 4-6 weeks for an assessment. The waiting list within Barnet is now up to 15 months. This time last year it was 6 months, demonstrating the significant detrimental impact that not retaining experienced social workers is having on the service.

Mental Health Social Workers continue to express concerns that, as they are not able to assess and meet the needs for residents in a reasonable time, people with severe mental ill-health are not receiving the support they need to remain well and live in the community. This can lead to otherwise avoidable, or delayable, deterioration to mental health and can result in the person’s compulsory admission to hospital on a mental health ward. Social workers have been raising that this is not fair on those who experience mental ill health, nor those who support them, such as family and friends. It is also not in line with the principles or ethos of the Care Act 2014, which is underpinned by a responsibility for local authorities to promote wellbeing and to prevent, delay, and reduce a person’s needs for care and support.

The teams require a stable team comprised of permanent and experienced staff. This cannot be achieved when staff are leaving at such high rates. Mental Health Social Workers have therefore been asking Barnet Council to apply a Recruitment and Retention payment which is already in place for social workers within Family Services.

Alarmingly, despite all the evidence provided to Barnet Council, it continues to report inaccurate information regarding recruitment and retention, claiming much higher rates than are true. This has resulted in continued dismissal of the concerns raised by the workers.

According to the British Association of Social Workers, Social Workers have a responsibility to promote and work to the Code of Ethics, which has underpinned social work practice since 1975. The code sets out that social workers are expected to bring inadequate resources to the attention of their employers and that they should be prepared to challenge ineffective procedures and practice. Social Workers are regulated by Social Work England which sets out professional standards for all social workers in England. These standards state that social workers should raise concerns about unsafe practice and should challenge practices, systems, and processes where necessary.

Social workers therefore have a duty to raise concerns and advocate for those whom they serve. Mental health social workers in Barnet have been meeting these responsibilities throughout the two years they have been raising increasing concerns. We see industrial action as a necessary extension of our responsibilities as social workers to advocate for those we serve, particularly those who may not be able to advocate for themselves.

We are challenging the lack of a safe service and the unreasonable and increasing waiting lists which put the residents of Barnet at risk of harm. We are asking for a recruitment and retention payment to maintain a stable and permanent workforce of experienced staff. We will continue to advocate for the residents of Barnet and unless Barnet Council implements a reasonable recruitment and retention payment to keep experienced staff in Barnet, we will continue to return to the picket line come rain, shine, or more rain, to raise awareness and fight for residents.

Why? Because we are social workers and THIS is what social work looks like.

Signed

Barnet UNISON Mental Health social workers.

Breaking News: UNISON issues strike action notice for the next 5 months!

24th October 2023 admin Austerity, Local, Uncategorised, UNISON Campaign

Julia Mwaluke, UNISON Vice President on Barnet UNISON picket line

Today, UNISON sent the strike notification letter to Barnet Council laying out the dates of strike action to be taken by Mental Health social workers starting in November right through to March 2024.

The first day of strike action will start Tuesday 7 November 2023.

We are pleased to report that Brighton UNISON Adults social workers will be taking strike action on the same day (Tuesday 7 November 2023) Barnet UNISON Mental Health social workers are taking strike action. Their demand is similar to our demand, they want parity for Adults social workers with Family Services social workers who have retention payments.

Barnet UNISON has proposed a solution to this dispute which is based on rates (7.5% to 25%) that are already paid out to other social workers in Family services. According to evidence seen by Barnet UNISON, the numbers of staff leaving Mental Health social work teams exceeds those leaving Family Services social work teams who are all receiving recruitment & retention payments. Barnet UNISON is clear that recruitment & retention payments are likely to help stabilise the high turnover of staff across Mental Health social work teams and help retain existing staff.

The strike timetable for the next FIVE months is as follows:

7/8/9/14/15/16 November 2023.
4/5/6/7/8/ December 2023.
15/16/17/18/19 January 2024.
5/6/7/8/9 February 2024.
4/5/6/7/8 March 2024.

42% of social workers within the Mental Health Social Care have left within the past year whilst more still have formal plans to leave the teams within the next few months, meaning this figure is closer to 50%. Furthermore, the majority of workers who have left have been those with by far the most experience, with many of these workers previously working their entire careers in mental health services within Barnet. When looking at information regarding the mental health experience of permanent staff members, one team has lost 75% of the experience within their team in less than one year. The result is that social workers who are recently qualified make up the bulk of the teams.

***Please note that Barnet UNISON has lodged another internal dispute on behalf of the remaining social workers and occupational therapists working in Adults in response to the 2.6% recruitment and retention offer made to this group of workers. Barnet UNISON is unaware of any recruitment and retention issues across this workforce and has made repeated requests for a breakdown of staffing levels across all the other social work and OT Teams. As of Tuesday 24 October, this information has not been provided despite several requests being made both in writing and in meetings.

“We are challenging the lack of a safe service and the unreasonable and increasing waiting lists which put the residents of Barnet at risk of harm. We are asking for a recruitment and retention payment to maintain a stable and permanent workforce of experienced staff. We will continue to advocate for the residents of Barnet and unless Barnet Council implement a reasonable recruitment and retention policy to keep experienced staff in Barnet, we will continue to return to the picket line come rain, shine, or more rain, to raise awareness and fight for residents. Why? Because we are social workers, and THIS is what social work looks like!” (Barnet UNISON Mental Health social worker).

“It is incredible that the employer prefers strikes over getting its facts straight and negotiating a solution. It is incredible that the only people who truly care about the services they provide are the ones on the frontline. Under the COVID pandemic we were heroes and now we’re supposed to accept that our viewpoints count for nothing? Enough is enough! These striking workers make sense and are prepared to fight for decent services. It is an honour to be with them.” (Helen Davies, Branch Chair Barnet UNISON)

“My advice to the Council is to wake up and return to the negotiating table with a credible or risk further disruptions to Mental Health services. We know that the waiting list for services has increased from 6 months to 14 months. The impact of strikes and the constant staffing changes are all exacerbating a problem that needs addressing. Our members are clear that to deliver a safe service with no waiting lists they need to have a stable and experienced workforce. In the space of first 9 months in 2023, 14 out 31 staff have left and last week another member of staff has given in their notice. This staffing churn is bad news for service users, and it impacts on the well-being of staff and the longer it continues there is an increased likelihood of more resignations.” (John Burgess, Branch Secretary Barnet UNISON).

End.

Notes to Editors.

Contact details: Barnet UNISON on 0208 359 2088 or email: contactus@barnetunison.org.uk

Background:

Why our Mental Health social workers are on strike flyer.

https://www.barnetunison.me.uk/wp/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/2023.09.18-Mental-Health-Leaflet.pdf

Day One of Mental Health social work strike.

https://www.barnetunison.me.uk/wp/2023/09/26/day-one-of-mental-health-social-work-strike/

What do UNISON and the Mental Health social workers hope to achieve with the strike?

https://www.barnetunison.me.uk/wp/2023/09/18/what-do-unison-and-the-workers-hope-to-achieve-with-the-strike/

Breaking News: 100% vote by Mental Health Social Workers for strike action

https://www.barnetunison.me.uk/wp/2023/09/04/breaking-news-100-vote-by-mental-health-social-workers-for-strike-action/