Barnet UNISON

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. Worryingly, the GMB union supported the Council’s position on this matter.  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

A WORD ABOUT THE GMB

At the 29 May hearing, the GMB union joined with Barnet Council in resisting UNISON’s submissions.

UNISON is not interested in inter-union politics. We are interested in equality and fairness for our members. We have reached out to GMB to approach the legal process collectively.  We want to work with them.  But we will not let another union block our members’ access to justice.

UNISON will continue to fight for every member who has signed up to this claim, and we will fight for the right of every eligible worker to join it.

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

1. Barnet UNISON is the UNISON branch for workers employed by the London Borough of Barnet, The Barnet Group and Barnet Education and Learning Skills.
2. 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.
3. UNISON’s equal pay claims were lodged with the Employment Tribunal in November and December 2025.
4. 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.
5. Claims against The Barnet Group and Barnet Education and Learning Skills are not subject to the stay and are being actively progressed.
6. 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).