TBG UNISON members formal strike ballot looms
Barnet Voice TBG Ballot ready
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Category: Housing
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — 17 JULY 2026 BARNET HOUSING AND CARE WORKERS MOVE TOWARDS STRIKE BALLOTS
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — 17 JULY 2026
BARNET HOUSING AND CARE WORKERS MOVE TOWARDS STRIKE BALLOTS
Barnet Homes and Your Choice Barnet workers say “Enough is Enough” after TBG refuses to negotiate on pay, terms and pensions.
Barnet UNISON is preparing to request two separate formal industrial action ballots for members working in Barnet Homes and Your Choice Barnet, following a Special JNCC meeting with The Barnet Group today.
UNISON reported the results of two separate consultative ballots:
- 97% of Your Choice Barnet members voted for industrial action
- 100% of Barnet Homes members voted for industrial action
Despite these results, The Barnet Group confirmed at the meeting that it was not willing to negotiate on any part of UNISON’s claims.
The claims cover:
- a proper pay increase, including a £15-an-hour minimum
- improved terms and conditions
- movement towards council-standard terms
- access to the Local Government Pension Scheme
Barnet UNISON formally registered a failure to agree at the Special JNCC and advised TBG that the branch will now seek approval for separate statutory industrial action ballots for housing workers and care workers.
A Barnet Homes worker said:
“We deliver council housing services, but we are not treated like council workers. We work longer hours, receive worse terms and have no access to LGPS. Members have had enough of being told there is never any money for us.”
A Your Choice Barnet care worker said:
“We support vulnerable adults every day, often under huge physical and emotional pressure. Then we go home worrying about rent, food and bills. We are doing essential work in one of the most expensive cities in the world, but we are still treated as second-class.”
Helen Davies, Barnet UNISON Branch Chair and UNISON SGE representative for London, said:
“These ballot results send a powerful message. Housing and care workers are angry, organised and no longer prepared to accept second-class treatment. TBG has rejected every part of the claim and has now refused to negotiate, even after hearing that members are ready to take action. Enough is enough. Barnet Council owns The Barnet Group and cannot stand back while the workers delivering its services are treated this way.”
Barnet UNISON is calling on The Barnet Group and the London Borough of Barnet to return to negotiations with a serious proposal before the dispute escalates further.
Notes to editors
- The Barnet Group is wholly owned by the London Borough of Barnet.
- Barnet Homes provides housing services.
- Your Choice Barnet provides adult social care services.
- The consultative ballots were separate from the formal statutory industrial action ballots now being prepared.
- Industrial action has not yet been authorised or called.
Media enquiries: contactus@barnetunison.org.uk
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | June 2026 BARNET UNISON’S EQUAL PAY FIGHT: WE ARE NOT GOING AWAY
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | June 2026
BARNET UNISON’S EQUAL PAY FIGHT: WE ARE NOT GOING AWAY
Hundreds of Barnet women workers are owed years of back pay. UNISON is fighting for every one of them and the bill for Barnet Council is growing every single day.
On 29 May 2026, Barnet UNISON took its equal pay claim to the Employment Tribunal. UNISON’s solicitors made the case for hundreds of women workers — school staff, care workers, early years workers, administrators and support staff — who have for years been paid less than their male counterparts in the council’s waste and recycling service.
Here is what we know. Male workers in the waste and recycling service are paid for a full working day but are allowed to go home when their rounds are done, sometimes by mid-morning. Women doing work of equal value have no such benefit. They work every contracted hour every day. That is not fair. That is unequal and illegal. And UNISON is determined to put it right.
WHAT HAPPENED AT THE TRIBUNAL
Our barrister succeeded in getting UNISON’s case heard, despite attempts by Barnet Council to block our submissions. UNISON was fighting for women workers in that courtroom, making the case to get our members’ voices heard.
The judge has set a preliminary hearing for 9 September 2026 to consider UNISON’s application to have the procedural block on our claim removed.
That hearing is the next critical moment. We will be ready.
Separately, the tribunal confirmed that UNISON’s claims against The Barnet Group and Barnet Education and Learning Skills — the council’s own companies, employing many of our members — are not subject to any block and are being progressed. Those claims move forward now.
OUR CLAIM IS STRONG AND GROWING
Barnet UNISON’s case is not built on speculation. It is built on evidence — evidence that has been gathered carefully, systematically, and with the support of experienced legal specialists in equal pay law.
Here is what we know about the situation at Barnet:
- Waste and recycling workers are regularly finishing their rounds hours before their contracted day ends and going home, paid in full.
- Women working in schools, care, early years, social services and admin must complete every contracted hour. There is no equivalent benefit for them.
- The council knows this practice exists. Rather than negotiating an end to this practice as other Councils have done, they are refusing to sit and meet with UNISON.
- Other councils — including Southampton, Birmingham and Glasgow — have already settled equal pay claims on the same basis, paying out millions of pounds to women workers.
- The longer Barnet Council refuses to come to the table, the bigger the bill becomes. Every single month of delay adds to the compensation owed.
“This claim is about basic fairness. Women working for Barnet Council and its companies have been short-changed for years while the council looked the other way. We have the evidence, we have the legal backing, and we have the determination to see this through. Barnet Council cannot run from this. The question is not whether they will have to pay — it is how much.”
Helen Davies, Branch Chair, Barnet UNISON and UNISON London Regional SGE Representative
EVERY MONTH OF DELAY COSTS BARNET COUNCIL MORE
Barnet Council’s legal strategy appears to be delay procedural hearings; blocking applications; running down the clock. What they do not seem to understand, or perhaps do not care about, is that delay does not reduce their liability; it increases it.
Equal pay back pay accrues from the date a claim is lodged. UNISON’s claims were lodged in November and December 2025. That clock is running. Every month the council refuses to negotiate, every month they hide behind procedural manoeuvres, the total compensation bill grows. By the time this case reaches settlement or judgment, Barnet Council will be paying for every single month they delayed.
That cost is ultimately borne by Barnet taxpayers. UNISON is not responsible for that. The council is.
THIS IS YOUR CLAIM. YOUR TIME IS NOW.
UNISON has lodged claims on behalf of our members. But the strength of this campaign depends on numbers and numbers depend on you.
Every eligible UNISON member who completes a case form adds to the pressure on Barnet Council to stop stalling and sit down at the negotiating table. A large, organised, well-evidenced claim is harder to ignore and harder to fight than a small one. Barnet Council is already watching these numbers. Help us make them impossible to ignore.
Here is what you must understand about timing: your back pay runs from the date you join the claim, not from the date UNISON first raised the issue. Every month you wait is a month of potential compensation you may never recover. Do not assume someone else has done it for you. Do not assume you will be included automatically.
COMPLETE YOUR CASE FORM TODAY
Contact Barnet UNISON at contactus@barnetunison.org.uk to get your case form. Fill it in. Return it. Do it now.
If you are a UNISON member working for the London Borough of Barnet, The Barnet Group or Barnet Education and Learning Skills, and you believe you may have been affected by unequal pay, you may be eligible to join this claim. Speak to your UNISON rep or contact the branch directly.
UNISON STANDS FULLY BEHIND YOU
UNISON knows what the cost-of-living crisis means for our members. We see it every day. Workers who give everything to their jobs — caring for children, supporting families, keeping this borough running — are struggling to pay their bills, heat their homes and put food on the table. Many of Barnet UNISON’s members are among the lowest paid workers in the borough. They cannot afford to wait years for justice that should have been delivered years ago.
That is why this claim matters beyond its legal significance. The back pay owed to these workers is not a windfall. It is money they earned and were denied. It is money that would make a real difference to real lives, right now, when it is needed most.
“Barnet UNISON’s equal pay claim is exactly the kind of fight that UNISON exists to lead. These are women who have worked hard, served their community, and been systematically short-changed. UNISON’s London region stands fully behind Barnet branch and every member in this claim. We will not rest until justice is delivered.”
Sara Gorton Regional Secretary UNISON Greater London Region
“Equal pay is not a negotiating position. It is a legal right. The women of Barnet have waited long enough. UNISON is unequivocally, unconditionally and completely behind Barnet UNISON’s members and their branch in this fight. Barnet Council must stop hiding behind legal delays and do the right thing: come to the table, negotiate a fair settlement, and end this inequality now.”
Andrea Egan, UNISON General Secretary
ENDS
For further information contact Barnet UNISON Branch: contactus@barnetunison.org.uk
NOTES TO EDITORS
- Barnet UNISON is the UNISON branch for workers employed by the London Borough of Barnet, The Barnet Group and Barnet Education and Learning Skills.
- Equal pay claims are brought under the Equality Act 2010. Back pay in Employment Tribunal equal pay claims in England and Wales runs for up to six years from the date the claim is lodged.
- UNISON’s equal pay claims were lodged with the Employment Tribunal in November and December 2025.
- A preliminary hearing is listed for 9 September 2026 to consider UNISON’s application to lift the procedural stay on claims against the London Borough of Barnet.
- Claims against The Barnet Group and Barnet Education and Learning Skills are not subject to the stay and are being actively progressed.
- Comparable equal pay settlements involving task and finish in waste and recycling services have been reached at Southampton City Council (July 2025), Birmingham City Council (2024–25) and Glasgow City Council (2022).
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.
Update on Pay Negotiations with TBG
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.
Cost of Living Crisis: What Barnet UNISON Is Doing — and Why Your Vote Matters
Every week Barnet UNISON speaks to members who are doing essential public service work — and struggling to make ends meet. That should never be normal. Yet in one of the most expensive cities in the world, too many Barnet workers are facing rising rents, higher food bills, increased energy costs, and transport fares that keep going up while pay falls behind.
We are seeing the reality on the ground: members skipping meals, taking second jobs, worrying about heating bills, and telling us they feel worse off now than at any time in their working lives.
Barnet UNISON has not stood back and watched this happen. We have built a coordinated Cost-of-Living response based on organising, bargaining and legal challenge. We are currently running ten separate cost-of-living campaigns across the employers where our members work.
Our 10 Cost of Living Campaigns
1. Equal Pay campaign across three employers
2. Pay claim for housing workers
3. Terms and conditions claim for housing workers
4. LGPS pension claim for housing workers
5. Pay claim for care workers
6. Terms and conditions claim for care workers
7. LGPS pension claim for care workers
8. Holiday payments claim for Barnet Council workers
9. Holiday payments claim for housing and care workers
10. Pay claim for outsourced cleaners
This is one of the most extensive cost-of-living responses our branch has ever mounted. It reflects what members have told us repeatedly: the problem is not one single issue — it is pay, pensions, insecure terms, unpaid entitlements, and historic inequality all combining to squeeze household incomes.
Low Pay in a High-Cost City: The Reality
Low pay is not accidental. It grows when employers hold down wages, delay reviews, outsource services, and maintain unequal pay structures.
Meanwhile, the cost of living in London continues to rise. Housing costs remain among the highest in the country. Inflation over recent years has pushed up the price of everyday essentials. When wages lag behind prices year after year, workers get poorer even while working just as hard — or harder — than before.
That is not sustainable for individuals, for families, or for the services we provide.
What the Union Is Doing — and What Happens Next
Our job as your union is to turn frustration into leverage. That means submitting claims, negotiating firmly, campaigning publicly, using legal routes where appropriate, and — when members support it — preparing for industrial action.
Across all ten campaigns, we are pressing employers to negotiate seriously and settle fairly. Some campaigns focus on immediate pay uplift. Others address structural unfairness that has cost members money over many years. All are about restoring value to your work.
The Most Important Message: Members Decide
There is one point we want to be absolutely clear about:
Members decide.
Ballots matter. Consultations matter. Voting matters. Whether a claim settles, escalates, or moves to the next stage depends on member participation and member votes.
The future of each of these campaigns will not be decided in a boardroom alone — it will be determined by how members vote.
When we organise and vote together, we are strongest.
End.
Equal Pay explained by a cat & a dog 🐱🐶
Barnet UNISON Launches Potential Equal Pay Claim on Behalf of its female members.
Barnet UNISON is urging its female members in the London Borough of Barnet (LBB) to come forward as the union prepares to launch a collective legal challenge over potential equal pay breaches by the Council.
The move follows extensive investigations into pay practices within LBB, particularly in relation to the use of “task and finish” arrangements in the Waste & Recycling service. UNISON believes there is now sufficient evidence to support equal pay claims with reasonable prospects of success.
John Burgess, Branch Secretary of Barnet UNISON, said:
“The possibility that staff – the majority of whom are women – may have been underpaid for years is deeply concerning, especially in the midst of a cost-of-living crisis. Equal Pay is not just a legal right, it’s a fundamental matter of fairness. UNISON is committed to ensuring our members receive the pay they are legally and morally entitled to.”
The union is now asking affected members to complete an Equal Pay case form detailing their job roles, grades, and employment history. This information will allow UNISON to assess each claim and proceed with legal and procedural steps, including lodging a collective grievance and initiating early conciliation.
Barnet UNISON is also reminding staff of the strict six-month legal time limit for making an Equal Pay claim. Anyone who has recently left the Council or changed roles is urged to act quickly.
UNISON has led the fight for Equal Pay in local government for over a decade, winning millions in compensation for underpaid workers. The union will continue to engage in constructive dialogue with Barnet Council while preparing to take legal action where necessary.
ENDS
For media enquiries, please contact:
Barnet UNISON at contactus@barnetunison.org.uk
URGENT ACTION REQUIRED : Potential Equal Pay Claim
As you may be aware, there has been a lot of recent activity regarding potential equal pay claims in the London Borough of Barnet (LBB).
As the UK’s largest union, UNISON has led on equal pay within local government for over a decade and has recovered £millions in compensation for our members. We take the issue extremely seriously.
We appreciate that the prospect of being underpaid due to your gender in a cost-of-living crisis is especially emotive, however, Equal Pay legislation is complex, and UNISON has been carrying out investigations into a number of discriminatory pay practices that have been identified.
We wanted to understand the facts and consider the legal position so we can advise members appropriately. As a result of our investigations, we understand that in the Waste & Recycling service, the Council operates a practice of task and finish and has made bonus payments.
We are now satisfied that there is evidence that is likely to give rise to equal pay claims against LBB with reasonable prospects of success. This is of course dependent on your individual circumstances, and we will require members to complete case forms so that we can confirm whether your individual circumstances are captured within the potential claims we’ve identified. You must provide details of your job role, grade and dates of your employment.
If you have multiple job roles, we need this information for all of them. In order to pursue a claim, you can download an equal pay case form along with guidance on how to complete it.
Please return your completed case form to contactus@barnetunison.org.uk
at your earliest convenience.
In tandem with the legal process, we must also exhaust internal procedures by lodging collective grievance. Once we have received your case form, we will add your name to the collective grievance that we will send to the Council. In addition, we will shortly arrange to start early conciliation on your behalf. This is the pre-requisite to starting a Tribunal claim.
Please be aware of time limits. To pursue a claim for equal pay, the claim must be lodged in the Tribunal within 6 months less one day of the end of your employment or a change in your employment. If you have left the Council in the past 6 months, or if you have changed your role in the last 6 months, please make this clear on the case form.
Please be assured that we will continue to maintain a constructive dialogue with your employer and seek to resolve matters industrially, wherever possible.
We will also keep you updated as to the progress of any negotiations/claims whenever there are any significant developments.
End.
South Cambridgeshire Council Votes for a 4 Day Week — It’s Time to Fight for Ours
Dear members,
We are proud to report that South Cambridgeshire District Council has become the first council in the UK to adopt a four-day week as permanent policy — on full pay, for all staff. This is a landmark moment in the fight for a better work/life balance and stronger public services.
Barnet UNISON visited this council and spoke directly with staff and trade union colleagues. Their message was clear: this is not a gimmick — it’s a serious, evidence-based reform that has delivered for staff, services, and residents alike.
What the report shows
The official Council report presented on 17 July 2025 outlines clear, independent evidence https://scambs.moderngov.co.uk/documents/b50013885/Four-day%20Week%20Update%20and%20Future%20Arrangements%20-%20Update%20from%20Scrutiny%20and%20Overview%20Committee%20Thursday.pdf?T=9 :
- 100% pay for 32 hours (86.5% of a 37-hour week), across all roles
- 22 of 24 service KPIs maintained or improved; 9 showed statistically significant improvement — including faster planning decisions, quicker benefit processing, and higher rates of emergency repairs completed on time
- £399,263 annual savings from reduced agency reliance and improved recruitment
- 123% increase in job applications and 41% drop in voluntary resignations
- Staff health and wellbeing scores — mental health, physical health, motivation, and intent to stay — all improved significantly
This was not a “soft” trial. It included independent analysis by the Universities of Cambridge, Salford, and Bradford, and national performance benchmarks. A public consultation — despite predictable scaremongering from anti-public sector groups — found no evidence of serious decline in services and strong public support in many areas.
When we win, expect pushback
Already, opponents of decent working conditions are attacking this result.
Let’s be honest — this isn’t new.
When trade unions first demanded:
- Holiday pay — we were told the economy would collapse.
- Sick pay — we were told people would take advantage.
- Health and safety laws — we were told it was red tape.
- Pensions — we were told it was unaffordable.
But unions stood strong. Members like you fought back. And we won every time.
The same fear tactics are being recycled today — against a four-day week.
What Barnet UNISON will do
This win matters. And it’s achievable here too.
Barnet UNISON will:
- Campaign to trial four-day week working with full pay across council and Barnet Group services
- Work with members to identify how services can adapt and innovate
- Push employers to engage with staff and trade unions, just like South Cambs did
- Show the evidence works, and challenge the myths when critics come calling
A union is for fighting
A trade union is not just a grievance handler — it’s a fighting force for better pay, safer work, and better lives. The four-day week is the next big leap.
Change never comes without a fight — but this shows it can come. And Barnet UNISON is ready.
In solidarity,
Barnet UNISON Branch