Category: National

National Campaigns

Barnet launches major Equal Pay action spanning council and LATCs — ‘EasyCouncil’ faces first London-wide test case

Austerity, Barnet Group, Barnet Homes, Local, National, News, Schools, Solidarity, TBG Flex, UNISON Campaign, Your Choice Barnet

PRESS RELEASE: For immediate release: 

Barnet launches major Equal Pay action spanning council and LATCs — ‘EasyCouncil’ faces first London-wide test case

Barnet UNISON has today submitted three collective grievances triggering a borough-wide Equal Pay claim across the London Borough of Barnet, The Barnet Group (TBG) and Barnet Education & Learning Service (BELS) — the council’s two wholly owned arm’s-length companies (LATCs).

Branded “EasyCouncil” during its peak outsourcing years, Barnet now faces an Equal Pay challenge that cuts across council services and its LATCs, echoing the ground-breaking 2023 Glasgow decision confirming that local authority trading companies are not a shield against Equal Pay liability where the council is the single source capable of rectifying pay inequality.

Helen Davies, Branch Chair, Barnet UNISON, said:
“Women in Barnet’s schools, care and community services have waited long enough. We’ve now filed Equal Pay grievances with all three employers because the evidence is overwhelming — and because LATC status doesn’t make discrimination disappear. If Southampton, Sheffield and Birmingham can settle multi-million-pound claims, so can Barnet.”

Barnet UNISON’s case covers multiple strands including task-and-finish uplifts, Christmas bonus payments, DLO payments, and pension access issues for LATC staff. The union is seeking a negotiated, borough-wide settlement framework that treats council and LATC workers consistently, rather than siloed processes.

A fast-growing national picture

Barnet’s action lands as councils across Britain confront Equal Pay liabilities:

  1. Southampton City Council – Settlement agreed (July 2025) for ~800 staff; task-and-finish disparity.
  2. Sheffield City Council – Agreement (Sept 2025): ~3,600 staff / ~260 roles; ~£36m redress.
  3. Birmingham City Council – Framework to settle (Dec 2024) following Section 114.
  4. Coventry City Council – ~680 claims ongoing (2025); >£30m exposure; ET listed Nov 2026.
  5. Brighton & Hove City Council – Claims lodged/flagged (2024–25), thousands indicated.
  6. Bradford MDC – Legal action launched (July 2025) for female-dominated roles.
  7. Knowsley Council – Union warns of “tens of millions” exposure (Oct 2025).
  8. Leeds City Council – Unions inviting case forms (2024–25).
  9. Derby City Council – Ongoing disputes; >£1.5m spent defending cases.
  10. BCP Council – Corporate papers flag equal-pay litigation risk (2024–25).
    Scotland:
  11. Glasgow City Council – Continuing settlements/updates (2023–25); key LATC precedent.
  12. Fife Council – Tribunal success reported (July 2022); further claims lodged.
  13. Falkirk, Renfrewshire, West Dunbartonshire – Equal-pay disputes/strikes (2024).

Helen Davies added:
“This could be the first of several London Equal Pay cases. Barnet helped pioneer outsourcing; now it should lead on putting pay equality right — across the council and the companies it owns.”

Call to the employer

Barnet UNISON has invited the Council, TBG and BELS to enter a Memorandum of Understanding for structured negotiations covering data disclosure, scope, timelines and remedies, so staff don’t wait years for justice.

Media contact:
Barnet UNISON – contactus@barnetunison.org.uk

Notes to editors:

  • Recent settlements referenced include Southampton (UNISON South East), Sheffield (Sheffield City Council), and Birmingham (City Council/union statements).
  • Barnet UNISON represents staff employed by Barnet Council, The Barnet Group, and BELS.
  • The Glasgow (2023) Equal Pay outcome reinforced that council-owned LATCs can fall within the single-source test for Equal Pay liability.

PRESS RELEASE: Equal Pay Momentum Builds in Barnet – Care and School Staff Sign Up in Their Hundreds

Anti - Racism, Barnet Group, Barnet Homes, Local, National, TBG Flex, Trades Dispute, UNISON Campaign, Your Choice Barnet

Barnet UNISON has revealed a surge of support for its Equal Pay campaign, with hundreds of care workers and school support staff already signed up and hundreds more contacting the branch to join the claim.

Across Barnet’s schools, care homes, and community services, women workers are taking action to protect their legal rights to equal pay.
UNISON says that the growing number of sign-ups shows the level of frustration among staff who have seen their real pay fall while the cost of living continues to rise.

Helen Davies, Branch Chair of Barnet UNISON, said:
“Our members have seen what’s happened in Southampton and Sheffield — ordinary council workers winning millions in back pay.
Now Barnet’s care workers and school staff are saying loud and clear: we deserve fairness too.”

The Equal Pay campaign has seen record engagement, with UNISON visiting schools and care workplaces across the borough to help staff complete their case forms and understand their rights under the Equality Act.

Helen Davies added:
“This is just the beginning.
Every week more members are signing up because they know that in a cost-of-living crisis, no one can afford to miss out on what they’re owed.”

📅 Equal Pay Surgeries: Every Tuesday in October
📍 UNISON Office, Colindale
📧 contactus@barnetunison.org.uk

END.

 

 

 

 

 

UNISON calls on Barnet Council to scrap plans to close vital mental health service

Anti - Racism, Austerity, Disability, Health and Safety, Local, National, News, Report, Solidarity, UNISON Campaign

Barnet UNISON has today published a report challenging Barnet Council’s proposal to close The Network, a long-standing community mental health prevention and recovery service.

Read our report in the link below

https://www.barnetunison.me.uk/wp/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Barnet-UNISON-Report-The-Future-of-The-Network.pdf

The Council’s own consultation shows 73% of respondents opposed closure — including 100% of carers — yet officers are still recommending that Cabinet votes to shut the service.

Barnet UNISON’s report sets out detailed evidence showing that:

  • The Network prevents crisis: Service users say it has kept them out of hospital, sustained their employment, and reduced isolation. One user told the consultation: “Without The Network, I would have ended up in hospital. It kept me going when nothing else was available.”
  • It is cost-effective: The service costs just £0.5m annually. Preventing as few as ten 14-day hospital admissions saves £280,000, over a third of the budget.
  • Alternatives cannot cope: The officer report lists other providers but gives no evidence of spare capacity or commitments to take additional referrals.
  • Equality impacts are serious: The Equalities Impact Assessment identifies disproportionate harm to working-age disabled women, which has been downplayed.
  • Labour values are at stake: National Labour policy stresses prevention, early help and keeping people in work. Closing The Network contradicts those commitments and risks reputational damage for Barnet Labour.
  • Legal risk: Closure exposes the Council to potential challenge under the Care Act 2014 (s.2 duty to prevent and delay need) and the Public Sector Equality Duty.

The report also includes:

  • Appendix E – Practitioner Evidence: authored by the staff who deliver the service. It shows The Network supports 350–500 referrals annually, has one of the shortest waits in Adult Social Care, and plays a recognised role in suicide prevention.
  • An Addendum responding directly to the final Cabinet papers, rebutting claims of declining demand, alternative capacity, and robust transition planning.

UNISON Statement

John Burgess, Branch Secretary of Barnet UNISON, said:

“Closing The Network is a false economy. It costs very little but saves the NHS and the Council huge sums by keeping people well, in work, and out of crisis. The consultation shows residents, carers, and professionals overwhelmingly oppose closure. Labour nationally is committed to expanding mental health support. Why would a Labour council do the opposite?”

Christina McAnea, UNISON General Secretary, has said:

“Slashing vital services that keep people well and independent is a false economy. Care should be a human right and a public service.”

Jon Richards, UNISON Assistant General Secretary, has warned:

“Cutting already overstretched services abandons some of the most vulnerable people in our communities.”

UNISON’s call to Barnet Council Cabinet

Barnet UNISON is urging Cabinet members to:

  1. Reject closure at the Cabinet meeting.
  2. Commission a genuine options appraisal — including integration into the Prevention & Wellbeing Team, joint-funding with NHS North Central London ICB, and service redesign.
  3. Require evidence of provider capacity before any change is considered.
  4. Re-run the EqIA with real evidence and lived-experience testimony.


Notes for editors


    

  • Barnet UNISON’s full report “The Future of The Network” (including Appendix E – Practitioner Evidence and Addendum to the final Cabinet report) is attached and available on request.
    • 

  • Appendices also include: Appendix A – Consultation, Appendix B – EqIA, Appendix D – Other Services.
    • 

  • The Network currently supports 165 active service users, processes 350–500 referrals annually, and provides suicide prevention, recovery groups, and employment support.
    • 



Ends.

			

		

		
		


	
		
			
	

		
		
Reject the insulting 3.2% National Pay offer – inflation now 3.5%
		
		
 
	
		Anti - Racism, Austerity, National, News, UNISON Campaign	



	
		

			
		
					

			


VOTE REJECT – YOUR PAY MATTERS ‼️


Barnet UNISON is urging every member to REJECT the employers’ 3.2% pay offer for 2025/26. Here’s why your voice – and your vote – matters more than ever:


📉 3.2% Is a Pay Cut, Not a Pay Rise


 Inflation has jumped to 3.5% (The Guardian, 21 May 2025). The 3.2% offer won’t even keep pace — it’s a real-terms cut. 


🛑 We’ve Already Lost Enough


Local government pay has lost 25% of its value since 2010.


Thousands of frontline staff are struggling to cover rising housing, childcare, and energy bills while employers reject even basic improvements.


💸 There Is Money – It’s Just Hoarded at the Top


In the UK, the 50 richest families now hold more wealth than the poorest 50% of the population combined, which includes over 34 million people. The number of billionaires in the UK has risen from 15 in 1990 to 165 in 2024, with the average billionaire’s wealth increasing over 1,000% during that period. The rich are getting richer — and fast.


Public services are being starved while extreme wealth is left untaxed. It’s time to tax the rich — not make workers pay for the crisis they didn’t cause.


🧨 Always Money for War, But Never for Workers


Government spending on military escalation continues — while schools crumble, council services are slashed, and staff like us are told to tighten our belts.


Our communities need investment, not cuts. We cannot rebuild services on broken wages.


 ⚠️ This Offer Solves Nothing


    

  • Employers have rejected every call for better working conditions:
    
❌ No £15/hr minimum
    
❌ No extra leave
    
❌ No reduced hours
    
❌ No term-time flexibility
    • 



 ✊ We Deserve Better


This fight is about dignity, respect, and fairness. We keep services running. We supported our communities through crisis after crisis. Now they expect us to accept less – again.


🗳️ Vote REJECT — and demand a deal that reflects our value and funds public services, not billionaire bank balances.


End.


 

			

		

		
		


	
		
			
			
	

		
		
Message to all of our Barnet UNISON schools members
		
		
 
	
		Anti - Racism, Austerity, Local, National, News, Schools, UNISON Campaign	



	
		

			
		
					

			


Dear Barnet UNISON


In early February, Barnet UNISON wrote to every school in Barnet seeking permission to speak to our members about the new School Support Staff National Negotiating Body (SSSNB) which will be established for all school support staff in England, including those working in academies and multi academy trusts.


You can view the letter to your school by clicking on the link below.


https://www.barnetunison.me.uk/wp/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/2025.01.20-Letter-to-headteacher.pdf


Our Assistant Branch Secretary Beverley Berwick has already started visiting schools speaking with members and the Head about the SSSNB.


This is likely to be the biggest change of our members in schools in a generation which is why we are keen to speak to our members.


If you are interested in helping to arrange a visit in your school, please email contactus@barnetunison.org.uk and request a visit.


 


End.




Background: 


Read more about SSSNB click on link below


https://www.barnetunison.me.uk/wp/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/SSSNB-members-briefing.pdf

			

		

		
		


	
		
	

		
		
Barnet Council: “Outsource, outsource and more outsourcing.”
		
		
 
	
		Anti - Racism, Austerity, Barnet Group, Barnet Homes, Housing, Local, National, News, Solidarity, TBG Flex, UNISON Campaign, Your Choice Barnet	



	
		

			
		
					

			


“A Labour Government would oversee the ‘biggest wave of insourcing for a generation,’ deputy leader Angela Rayner has said” (2022) 


Fast forward to 2025 and here in Barnet Council the message is clear outsourcing, outsourcing and more outsourcing.


In the last 12 months our cleaners were told they would not be brought back inhouse our parking workers were told late last year that insourcing was not an option and tomorrow Wednesday 5 February Education workers were told that they would remain outside the Council, denying staff access to a public sector pension scheme.


The trade unions all lobbied the Labour Administration and were sent a very clear message that outsourcing is off the table.




We are in the worst cost of living crisis in 77 years and our lowest paid are living in daily fear as to what bills they can pay. 


Our outsourced members are the worst impacted as privatisation brings the following:


Job Insecurity and Reduced Benefits:


Private companies often prioritise profit maximisation, which can lead to job cuts, reduced wages, and fewer benefits for workers.


This can create instability and financial hardship for low-paid workers who rely on the steady employment and benefits that public sector jobs often provide.


Erosion of Worker’s Rights:


Privatisation weakens workers’ ability to collectively bargain for better wages and working conditions.


This can lead to a decline in worker’s rights and protections, making low-paid workers more vulnerable to exploitation.


Increased Inequality:


The focus on profit in privatised services can lead to a widening gap between executive pay and the wages of frontline workers.


This exacerbates existing income inequality and can make it even harder for low-paid workers to make ends meet.




We have workers delivering services for Barnet Council with no occupational sick pay, no access to a public sector pension scheme to name a few of the gross inequalities that are rife across the private sector.


UNISON represents outsourced workers in Housing, Social Care, Cleaning, Parking Enforcement, Security, Schools Catering and Education and all are being told there is no room for them in the Barnet Council workforce.


UNISON has a National Policy called Bringing Services Home and Barnet UNISON fully supports this aim and will continue to push for a clear plan and timetable for services to be brought back in-house.


 


End.

			

		

		
		


	
		
	
			  

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