Category: Insourcing

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.

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