Category: Uncategorised

Monday 10th August

Weekly Blog – Speaking Truth too Power – Sickness Absence

Sickness absence can become complicated very quickly. A few days off, a return-to-work meeting, then suddenly a manager is talking about review stages and attendance targets.

 

My message this week is simple. Contact UNISON early. Do not wait until you are worried that your job may be at risk.

 

Tell us when your health is affecting your work

You do not need to wait until you are signed off sick before contacting UNISON.

 

Speak to us if your health is affecting your attendance, your performance or your ability to carry out parts of your job. This includes physical health, mental health, stress, a disability or a long-term health condition.

 

The Council’s own policy says managers should support staff, discuss health problems sensitively and consider appropriate adjustments. That might include changes to duties, hours, equipment, workload or working arrangements.

 

The earlier these issues are raised, the better the chance of support being put in place before matters become more serious.

 

This guide relates to Barnet Council employees. Staff employed by schools may be covered by a separate policy adopted by their governing body, so school members should contact us for advice about the procedure that applies to them.

 

Know the basic sickness reporting rules

Employees are expected to notify their manager on the first day of sickness, normally within one hour of their usual start time or earlier where possible.

 

You should agree how you will keep in contact during your absence. If you are off for more than seven calendar days, including weekends and bank holidays, you must provide a fit note covering the absence.

A return-to-work meeting should normally take place after every period of sickness absence. The discussion should be private. Your manager should make a written note, place it on your personnel file and give you a copy.

Read that note. Check that it is accurate. Challenge anything which is wrong or misleading.

 

The Council’s review point is three periods of sickness absence or eight days of cumulative absence within a rolling twelve-month period, adjusted for part-time staff. Reaching that point does not automatically mean formal action. The manager should consider the circumstances and what support may be needed.

 

Occupational Health should be used properly

Occupational Health can be useful, but the referral needs to ask the right questions.

 

The Council normally seeks an employee’s consent before making a referral. Occupational Health advice is advisory. It does not make the management decision.

Before agreeing to a referral, ask to see the questions being sent. They should focus on matters such as whether you are fit to work, whether your condition may be work-related, what adjustments may help and whether a phased return is appropriate.

 

A poor referral can produce a poor report. A report based on incomplete or inaccurate information can then be used in meetings about your employment.

The procedure also says managers should have an up-to-date Occupational Health report before arranging a formal meeting or hearing. Contact UNISON before the referral is submitted, particularly if your health problems involve workplace stress, bullying, an accident at work or an ongoing grievance.

 

Do not attend formal meetings alone

The procedure has three review stages.

Stage 1 is described as an informal review. It may include an attendance target and a further review period.

Stage 2 is a formal review meeting. Medical evidence, Occupational Health advice, adjustments, phased returns and possible redeployment should be considered.

Stage 3 is the final formal review. At that stage, the Council may say that continued employment is at risk. Possible outcomes can include medical redeployment, ill-health retirement or dismissal.

 

Members have the right to be represented by UNISON at formal meetings. You may also ask to be accompanied at an informal review meeting, although the policy does not give the same automatic right.

 

Do not wait until Stage 3 before asking for help. By then, decisions may already have been made and opportunities to challenge poor management or secure adjustments may have been missed.

If you receive a letter inviting you to an absence review meeting, contact the Barnet UNISON office straight away. Send us the invitation, the absence record, any Occupational Health reports and any correspondence from your manager.

 

Sickness absence procedures are supposed to support employees. They should not become a conveyor belt towards dismissal.

 

Keep records. Ask questions. Get advice early.

best wishes
John Burgess
Branch Secretary
Barnet UNISON

 

Monday 27th July 2026

 

Weekly Blog – Employment Rights Act 2025 – What does it mean for workers? 

The Employment Rights Act 2025 is now law, but it is not one big switch that has suddenly improved every workplace. Some rights are already in force. Others will arrive later, and some still depend on regulations and consultation.

The useful question for members is simple: what has changed, what is still coming, and will employers actually obey it?

What has changed already

Since April, Statutory Sick Pay has been payable from the first day of sickness rather than the fourth. The old minimum earnings threshold has also been removed. This matters most to low-paid workers, including many people in outsourced services, agency work and jobs with short or irregular hours.

Many Barnet Council employees have contractual sick pay which is better than Statutory Sick Pay. The new law does not give employers an excuse to cut better contractual arrangements. It sets a legal minimum, not a target.

Paternity leave and unpaid parental leave have also become rights from the first day of employment. The maximum protective award where an employer fails to consult properly over collective redundancies has doubled from 90 to 180 days’ pay.

Employers must now keep adequate records of annual leave and holiday pay for six years. That is especially relevant in Barnet, where UNISON is still challenging the Council over years of holiday pay which failed to include regular overtime. Employers have spent far too long acting as though poor records are the worker’s problem. They are not.

The Fair Work Agency has also been established, with powers covering areas including holiday pay and Statutory Sick Pay. We will judge it by what it delivers, not by the name on the door.

What is still to come

More changes are due later this year. These include electronic or workplace voting in statutory trade union ballots, stronger union access rights, better protection for union representatives and a new duty on employers to tell workers about their right to join a trade union.

 There are also stronger duties planned to prevent sexual harassment, including harassment by third parties such as customers, clients or service users.

From January 2027, the qualifying period for ordinary unfair dismissal is due to fall from two years to six months. That is an improvement, but it is not the day-one protection that was originally promised. Fire and rehire protections are also due in January 2027.

Other changes, including rights to guaranteed hours, reasonable notice of shifts, payment when shifts are cancelled, stronger flexible working rights and wider bereavement leave, are expected during 2027. Much of the detail is still being worked through.

Rights on paper are not enough

The Act contains important gains. Trade unions campaigned for them, and workers will benefit. But no law enforces itself.

Some employers will update their policies properly. Others will drag their feet, misunderstand the law or quietly hope workers do not know what has changed. We have seen that before with holiday pay, equal pay, maternity rights and reasonable adjustments.

That is why union organisation still matters. A legal right is stronger when workers know about it, keep records and act together when an employer gets it wrong.

Over the coming months, Barnet UNISON will continue checking employer policies and challenging anything which falls short. If you believe your sick pay, family leave, holiday pay or other rights are not being applied correctly, speak to your workplace rep or contact the branch.

The Employment Rights Act is progress. Our job is to make sure the words become real rights at work.

best wishes

John Burgess
Branch Secretary
Barnet UNISON

Barnet Homes staff voted 100% and Your Choice Barnet staff voted 97% to move towards an industrial ballot to achieve their aim of having Council terms and conditions restored.

The turnouts mean that they would have confidently beaten the thresholds required by the anti-trade union laws. No longer are these workers prepared to carry out 1^st class Council services on 2^nd class pay.

The only reason for the existence of Local Authority Trading Companies is for Councils to sidestep Council terms and conditions. They often cite the cost of the pension scheme to the employer. Yet it is senior managers who cost the most in the pension scheme and so we wonder “if it is such a good idea and so good for the Council then instead of forcing the lowest paid into even more inferior terms and conditions, why don’t senior managers lead by example and create one for themselves?”

Barnet UNISON has requested a Special JNCC to impress on The Barnet Group the need to negotiate movement on the demands from the workforce.

This news comes at a time when the Tribunal has ruled that the Equal Pay Claim against The Barnet Group and BELS can proceed to be heard.

We will feedback when we have more developments.

If you have any questions or need any support please contact the Branch Office

 contactus@barnetunison.org.uk

Or you can call 020 8359 2088, if we are unable to answer the telephone please leave a message speaking slowly and clearly please include your name, telephone number, membership number and a brief message about the assistance you require. We will respond as soon as we can.

Alternatively you can contact UNISON Direct Call Centre by telephone 

08000 857 857 Monday – Friday 6am – Midnight, Saturday 9am – 4pm

or make an online enquiry by clicking the following link

https://www.unison.org.uk/get-help/online-enquiries/

To Join UNISON click the following link 

https://join.unison.org.uk/

Barnet UNISON AGM
Tuesday 24 February
From 4pm onwards
(Details of venue/online access will be confirmed in the registration information.)

 

So far workers in Barnet Homes on legacy LBB contracts have received the annual uplift in pay in line with NJC.

Those paid the London Living Wage had an increase in their wages from £11.95 – £13.85 (a 5.3% increase).

At the end of Summer this year all other TBG workers saw their pay increase by 3.2%.

This all falls far short of the pay claim UNISON submitted to The Barnet Group in March this year. We wanted to see:

• Sick pay raised to Council standard
• Shift allowances restored to Council standard
• Pay rates for working weekends and bank holidays restored to Council standard

…amongst other demands (see here for full list Barnet Voice – The Barnet Group – Barnet UNISON)

We did not expect everything to be welcomed or agreed in one go but expected there to be a process of negotiation. It is worth noting that restoring sick pay to Council standards for everyone would cost an estimated £40,000 only!

The Barnet Group has told us they will not negotiate this year as they are awaiting the outcome of the review of the YCB contract. They also say they have no money.

However, whilst we recognise times are tight, we believe there are possibilities for achieving some progress on our demands by looking at other areas for savings. For example:

• Senior pay transparency: Our members note large salaries at senior levels (TBG CEO: £218,643; Council CEO: £212,685; The Barnet Group Ltd Executive Officers cost £1, 093, 000/ year – from accounts to year end 2025).
• Agency use: £7,879,000.

We do not believe a blanket “no” is the right response in these times of extreme difficulty for our members.

Look out for our pay survey coming to you shortly. We recommend you vote YES in our survey to indicate you are serious about achieving positive change in your working conditions.

Barnet UNISON shares the horror and despair many of our members will be feeling following news of recent racist attacks:

• the deadly antisemitic attack in Manchester;
• the arson attacks on the Mosque in Sussex and the Britannia Hotel housing refugees (both of which took place with people present in the buildings);
• a Summer of Hate directed against refugees with racists feeling emboldened to attack anyone who does not fit into the tight category of being a hetero white British Christian who is not disabled. Predominantly Muslims and Black people have been targeted;
• the largest mobilisation ever seen in the UK of the Far Right which degenerated into a series of attacks on Black people and an attempted attack on St Thomas Hospital;

None of this is inevitable. If you are appalled by these events and want this all to stop, then please do come to Barnet UNISON’s meeting on Anti Racism and Stopping the Far Right.

Next Tuesday 14^th October 6.30pm

 https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81332224493?pwd=qRwETOrnan8CgXWEB6cLr1TibozkrI.1

 

Meeting ID: 813 3222 4493

Passcode: 645821

 

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