Austerity – Page 32 – Barnet UNISON

Breaking News: Monthly sessions with Payroll starts February 2021.

21st December 2020 admin Austerity, Local, News, Solidarity, Uncategorised, UNISON Campaign

Dear Members

Barnet UNISON has had too many cases of members contacting us about payroll issues.

It is really important that you get the correct pay for the work you have done.

One of the biggest issues is understanding the pay slips.

I am pleased to announce that Street Scene are introducing monthly sessions with Pay roll.

These sessions will be run by the Capita HR Payroll Team.

The first session will take place on 10 February in the Pacific Room between 12:00pm and 14:00pm by appointment only.

The sessions will be for individuals to speak directly to payroll via a private video call.

Appointments will be available in 15 minute slots.

How to book a session?

You can book a session in advance by:

Requesting via your supervisor
Provide them your details, and
Provide them with any information you can about the question or issue you want to discuss.

Your supervisor will then make your booking on your behalf and let you know the time.

Now is the time to make sure you take up this opportunity to get answers to some of the questions you have about your pay and your pay slip.

If you want a UNISON rep with you please let us know what time your session is booked in order we can sit down with you in the meeting.

Telephone 0208 359 2088 or email contactus@barnetunison.org.uk

Solidarity

John Burgess

Branch Secretary

Barnet UNISON

Update: Barnet Council responds to Coach Escorts

17th December 2020 admin Austerity, Health and Safety, Local, News, UNISON Campaign

Dear Members

In response to my email to the Chief Executive and the signed statement by the majority of the coach escorts I have had the following response which I want to share with you all.

“Briefing on the change of line-management of SEN Passenger Assistants

It has been agreed to transfer the line-management of SEN Passenger Assistants from Streetscene to the Transport Brokering Team in the BELS SEND and Inclusion service with effect from 1 January 2021. The transfer is intended to achieve service improvements while also delivering management efficiency savings over time.

The decision will lead to improvements in the service as a result of closer integration with other SEN teams and better communications which will be of benefit to pupils with special educational needs, their parents/carers, schools and the passenger assistants themselves. It will also enable BELS to deliver savings of £209,000 in 2021-22 rising to £229,000 in 22-23, as a result of management efficiencies.

In order to make the transfer as smooth as possible and to avoid any disruption or concerns about this leading to changes in terms and conditions for staff, it was decided that the staff should remain council employees and to commission BELS to provide line management for the service and to give them direct control of the staffing budget.

Staff will remain on LBB terms and conditions and there is no plan to change this. No redundancies are envisaged. It is not unusual to commission delivery partners to manage council staff. BELS already managed the headteacher of the Virtual School, who is employed by the council (a legal requirement) and she in turn manages the staff of the Virtual School who are employed by BELS. The Education Prevent Officer is employed by the council and managed by the BELS Safeguarding and Exclusions Manager. The head of the Transport Brokering Team in BELS reports directly to the Director, SEND and Inclusion, who is on a joint contract with the council and BELS (on account of some of the functions she exercises being non-contractable). BELS is a company wholly owned by the council.

Management of PAs by the SEN transport brokering team will provide a more streamlined conversation between the SEN teams, PAs, schools and parents about the needs of individual children and young people and how best to meet them and thus how to manage any safety and wellbeing issues. The transfer will mean greater consistency of approach/strategies used by all the adults who support children and young people with very complex needs, with PAs being part of the SEN team.

The transfer will enable closer working with schools and settings, so that information about individual children can be readily shared with PAs. This could include advice on behaviour management for individual children, as well as notifying the SEN Transport brokering team and the PAs of short or long-term changes in the child’s circumstances, including changes in health conditions.

The transfer will also lead to better planning and resilience for covering sickness and absence, which in turn will reduce the number of cancellations that have occurred during service delivery. It will mean a rapid response to passengers’ issues, as the Brokering team will now have direct contact with the PAs, without having to go through a middle tier of PTS management, which has sometimes resulted in delays in response times and complaints from frustrated parents.

PAs will be able to access direct support and advice from specialist staff in BELS concerning individual children. All the children and young people being transported and supported by PAs will be known to specialist Advisory Teachers and Educational Psychologists, who will be able to give advice on strategies to support the child. In effect, the Passenger Assistant will become a member of a ‘virtual team’ of adults working together to support the child, resulting in a holistic approach.

As the Brokering Team undertakes the risk assessment for SEN passengers, having the LBB PAs within their management control will lead to better understanding of requirements for PAs, ensuring the correct support and outcomes are achieved.

IH/HP 10.12.20. “

On 16 December I emailed BELS to ask for a copy of the plans in place to ensure that all staff have adequate PPE for all coach escorts when schools reopen in January 2020.

I want to send my best wishes to all of our members working for Passenger Transport and can assure you all that next year Barnet UNISON will be looking out for our members.

BreakingNews: Will Barnet Council close schools early ?

13th December 2020 admin Austerity, H&S, Health and Safety, Local, Report, Schools, UNISON Campaign

Hi Ian

I am writing to you in your statutory role to ask if you are aware of the Greenwich Council decision which has appeared online this afternoon?

I attach a copy of the letter sent out to all Greenwich schools by the Leader of Greenwich Council.

Please note he states:

“I have asked all Schools in Greenwich to close their premises from Monday evening and move to online learning for the duration of term, with the exception of key worker children and those with specific needs (exactly the same as the first lockdown).”

Throughout the pandemic we have been advised that Barnet Council are working in line with London Councils. I am assuming this decision has been subject to some discussions with London Councils?

Given the increased likelihood of London going into Tier 3 and perhaps the 23 – 28 December initiative being limited for people living in London is Barnet Council going to try to mitigate the spread by following their lead?

I will be writing to over a thousand plus UNISON members working in Barnet Schools most of which are frightened at the increasing likelihood that there will be more infections in the last week of school and the negative impact it will have on their families.

Stay safe.

Best wishes

John Burgess

Branch Secretary.

Barnet UNISON

0208 359 2088

www.barnetunison.me.uk

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Update on the Barnet UNISON Term Time Pay Campaign

9th December 2020 admin Austerity, Local, National, Schools, Solidarity, Trades Dispute, UNISON Campaign

Dear members,

Firstly, I hope you, your family and friends are keeping well and have been coping through this protracted period of anxiety and isolation caused by Covid19.

Owing to the virus, Barnet UNISON’s work regarding the term-time pay dispute was temporarily curtailed. This impacted my job as campaign organiser.

I am pleased to tell you that I am now able to resume my union role.

Barnet UNISON remains committed to trying to gain the best possible outcome for all members who have been discriminated against as a result of the incorrect formula being used to calculate your pay.

Many of you have already completed and submitted a hard copy of the CASE form that we have passed on to the union’s solicitors who are dealing with this collective grievance.

There are, however, lots of members who did not respond to our previous communications or complete a form.

This may be because I was unable to secure a meeting in your school prior to lockdown owing to a lack of response from school management. Our branch Secretary, John Burgess, sent letters to all Head Teachers and members but we did not receive responses from everyone. In addition, growing concerns around the virus began to interrupt my work towards the end of February.

Action Plan:

The branch will commence a series of regular monthly updates on the campaign so please check your emails.
I will be making as much contact with members as I can to advise and guide you, and help you submit a CASE form to our solicitors.
Your particular school may have already rectified the formula and back-dated pay for a specific period of time. If this applies to you please let me know.
Accepting any changes to your pay does not in itself prohibit you from submitting a claim. However, we advise you against signing anything until you have sought advice from UNISON.

There is no guarantee that the branch will win exactly what we aim for on your behalf but there is strength in numbers. The more members who decide to make a claim as part of the collective grievance, the greater our chances of success.

I am unlikely to be able to visit any schools for the foreseeable future because of the rules regarding gatherings and social distancing. Now is, therefore, the time for you to organise yourselves. Please consider acting as a workplace convenor or co-convenor with one of your colleagues.

We have created a streamlined CASE form for completion online. You simply need to populate it and return as an attachment by email. I will be sharing detailed guidance on this soon. Please note, we are now unable to process paper copies of the form as we are not operating from the branch office.

If you require any further advice prior to the next communication from the branch, you can email me.

Take care & stay safe.

Kind Regards

Nadia Joseph

Term Time Pay Organiser

Barnet UNISON

contactus@barnetunison.org.uk

Passenger Escorts speak out about their fears

9th December 2020 admin Austerity, COVID 19, Health and Safety, Local, UNISON Campaign

On Monday 30th November, 2020 at the Children, Education & Safeguarding Committee agreed to a savings proposal that moved the line management of Passenger Escorts from Barnet Council to the latest outsourcing organisation Barnet Education Learning and Skills (BELS).

This decision had not been discussed with the workforce. This service consists of a driver and a passenger escort. This proposal seeks to move from single line management of both staff to two line managers with the added complexity that the line manager for passenger escorts is not a Barnet Council employee.

Both UNISON and GMB objected to this decision and as you will see so did the workforce.

Over 90% of coach escorts signed the following statement

“Dear Mr Hooton

I have been told that as from 1 January 2021 I will no longer be managed by an employee of Barnet Council.

I was never asked for my opinion about this proposal.

I have worked through COVID and I continue to do my best for the children under very stressful circumstances because I love my job.

I don’t do this for the money.

I want to put on record that I want to be managed by a Barnet Council employee.

Signed”

Barnet UNISON and GMB email to Barnet Council Chief Executive

Hi John

Mary and I are writing to you on behalf of all coach escorts about the decision to move their line management from Street Scene to Barnet Education and Learning Service (BELS).

Last week we both attended five meetings with our members (coach escorts) working for Passenger Transport and the BELS over the decision to transfer the line management of the coach escorts from Street Scene to BELS.

Unfortunately what may have seemed like a decision that would have no impact on the staff we have to report that this is not the case. If we had been consulted about this proposal we would have advised you of the likely impact such news would have on this workforce.

This is a low paid female workforce.

They are a frontline workforce that have been working out in the COVID workplace with all the stress that brings regardless of what a Risk Assessment may state about being COVID secure.

It is to their credit that they like many low paid staff get on with the job. If you and members of your senior management team have ever spend time with this workforce, which we have both done over the years, you will have been left in no doubt that their commitment lies with the children they accompany on behalf of Barnet Council.

Both Mary and I have been involved with this service over many years and in that time staff have seen changes to line management of the service.

UNISON and GMB have been regularly meeting with the operational management of this service for over five years and in that time we have seen things improve for drivers and coach escorts.

Almost two weeks ago the trade unions were contacted to attend a meeting where we were told that the line management was being handed to BELS.

The reaction from both trade unions and later the membership, was why?

Why is a two person team being split and handed over to another employer?

It is really important to understand that many of the staff have been around for a long time and have witnessed groups of Council workers first being split from their original service only to find out later they are being outsourced.

Barnet Council like it or not has a reputation for outsourcing services to a variety of different employers. These different employers offer new staff inferior Terms and Conditions with no access to LGPS.

We have a recent example of BELS (formerly Mott MacDonald), where the workforce were unaware of what was going on behind the scenes with Mott MacDonald and Barnet Council were suddenly plunged into uncertainty and stress at the announcement that Mott MacDonald wanted to terminate the contract.

As you know the majority of staff wanted to return to Barnet Council. Many of our members across our respective trade unions commented how unfair it was that workers were carrying out the same role but one had access to the LGPS and the others did not. This inequality was exacerbated was made worse by the fact that senior managers with joint appointment contacts, which provides entitlement to LGPS, were promoting the BELS model and against the in-house model.

It is within this backdrop of this recent decision and the news of this transfer of line management that members across PTS are speculating this is the first stage of an outsourcing agenda.

In the five meetings which took place last week staff they have been told the reason for the decision to change the line management is to enable the service to become more streamlined and to improve communication. Both Mary and I were unaware there were any issues. It would have been helpful to have been informed of these concerns.

In terms of having a more streamlined it would make more sense to bring the SEND service back in-house to Family Services, in that way we would have one organisation responsible for delivering this service just as it is in many local authorities across the UK.

This is why I have coach escorts asking if this is the first step before a TUPE transfer to BELS and now our drivers are also feeling threatened that they could be TUPEd to an external contractor.

It is important to add that in the meetings when it was raised senior management for LBB and BELS have all stated this decision is not about outsourcing.

However due our Councils recent history of outsourcing many fear this decision is an indication there is going to be a return to outsourcing in response to Government’s announcements about local government pay freezes.

Over the last ten years low paid staff have been made to pay for Austerity and it should be no surprise to you and that of your senior management team that they fear that it is coming back for them.

Our members have repeatedly asked us what they can do. They don’t want to be transferred.

UNISON and GMB agreed that we would write to you and the senior management team responsible for this decision.

Please find attached a statement signed by almost every coach escort. The engagement of this workforce on this matter should provide an indication of the strength of feeling about this transfer and their wish to line managed by a Council employee.

Stay safe.

Best wishes

John Burgess

Branch Secretary.

Barnet UNISON

Barnet UNISON: Who are the Clinically Vulnerable?

11th November 2020 admin Austerity, COVID 19, Health and Safety, Local, UNISON Campaign

Press release: Clinically extremely vulnerable receive updated guidance in line with new national restrictions

Further precautions advised on top of the tougher national measures being introduced, as cases continue to rise.

Published 4 November 2020

From:: Department of Health and Social Care

Those with the following conditions fall into the clinically extremely vulnerable group:

solid organ transplant recipients
people with specific cancers:
- people with cancer who are undergoing active chemotherapy
- people with lung cancer who are undergoing radical radiotherapy
- people with cancers of the blood or bone marrow such as leukaemia, lymphoma or myeloma who are at any stage of treatment
- people having immunotherapy or other continuing antibody treatments for cancer
- people having other targeted cancer treatments that can affect the immune system, such as protein kinase inhibitors or PARP inhibitors
people who have had bone marrow or stem cell transplants in the last 6 months or who are still taking immunosuppression drugs
people with severe respiratory conditions including all cystic fibrosis, severe asthma and severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
people with rare diseases that significantly increase the risk of infections (such as severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID), homozygous sickle cell)
people on immunosuppression therapies sufficient to significantly increase risk of infection adults with Down’s syndrome
adults on dialysis or with chronic kidney disease (Stage 5)
women who are pregnant with significant heart disease, congenital or acquired
other people who have also been classed as clinically extremely vulnerable, based on clinical judgement and an assessment of their needs. GPs and hospital clinicians have been provided with guidance to support these decision

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/clinically-extremely-vulnerable-receive-updated-guidance-in-line-with-new-national-restrictions

Latest update added to clinical extremely vulnerable:

“We now have evidence to suggest that those with chronic kidney disease (stage 5) and those undergoing dialysis, as well as adults with Down’s Syndrome, are at higher risk from COVID-19 than the general population and therefore the Chief Medical Officer has advised they follow the new guidance for the clinically extremely vulnerable. We have asked the NHS to begin the process of identifying and contacting all those affected, providing them with the latest advice”.

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/clinically-extremely-vulnerable-receive-updated-guidance-in-line-with-new-national-restrictions

Breaking News: Covid Plus Joint Trade Union proposals

5th November 2020 admin Austerity, Barnet Group, COVID 19, Health and Safety, Housing, Libraries, Local, National, News, Schools, Solidarity, TBG Flex, UNISON Campaign, Your Choice Barnet

Dear Barnet UNISON members

The following Joint Trade Union proposals were sent to Barnet Council on Wednesday 4 November 2020.

We will update members as soon as we have a response.

UNISON National issue this statement on schools which you can view here

Joint Trade Union statement

COVID Plus. Front line workers

For the purposes of this proposal frontline means workers who cannot work from home.

All staff who are deemed clinically vulnerable or extremely clinically vulnerable to stay at home for lockdown on full pay.
All frontline staff to receive a monthly COVID payment for the duration of the Pandemic in recognition of the important role they playing in the provision of frontline services and the simple fact frontline workers can’t work from home and have to bear the costs of travel and navigate the risks of travel on public transport.
All frontline workers to have weekly COVID tests.
All frontline workers to receive full pay if they have to isolate or are unable to work due to COVID.
All frontline workers to have unlimited access to counselling services during this pandemic in recognition of the mental stress working with COVID brings to this workforce.
If staff have to work from home due to fact their children are sent home from their school due to COVID then they should remain on full pay.
All COVID related absences whilst recorded should not be used for sickness absence recording.
Any staff having to make emergency visits abroad to visit a dying relative or attend a funeral should receive full pay during the quarantine period.

COVID Plus for home workers.

All staff who are deemed clinically vulnerable or extremely clinically vulnerable to stay at home for lockdown on full pay.
All workers to have unlimited access to counselling services during this pandemic in recognition of the mental stress working with COVID brings to this workforce.

If staff have to work from home due to fact their children are sent home from their school due to COVID then they should remain on full pay and it should be recognised that the worker has a reduced capacity to carry out their work duties.
All COVID related absences whilst recorded should not be used for sickness absence recording.
Any staff having to make emergency visits abroad to visit a dying relative or attend a funeral should receive full pay during the quarantine period.
To recognise the damaging effect working from home has on both physical activity levels and mental health. Also to recognise that the normal practice of leaving home to travel to and from work also of travelling between venues for meetings are now lost to the home worker leading to a more compressed working routine with little opportunity to leave the home. Therefore give a one hour paid daily break to home working staff in addition to their lunch break to enable them to have down time from their computer screens and so that they can physically leave their home for a walk or partake in some form of exercise.
Protocol for structuring virtual meetings to enable time away from the screen e.g. starting meetings at quarter past the hour implying that there should be a 15min break before the meeting starts.
Supervision to incorporate questions relating to mental health wellbeing and physical health as well as checking on the home set up (it should not be assumed home set up is constantly the same).
For a designated person to randomly contact 10 workers per week to find out from them their experience with respect to supervision, welfare checks etc.
Staff with children at home should be given a designated amount of time to dedicate to their child’s learning and leisure.
Key workers working from home who have a clinically or extremely clinically vulnerable child should be allowed to continue working from home if schools are closed but only open to key worker’s children.

Stay safe

Best wishes

John Burgess

Branch Secretary

Barnet UNISON.

COVID Update: UNISON National Update for members in schools

3rd November 2020 admin Austerity, Health and Safety, Local, National, Schools, UNISON Campaign

Dear UNISON members

Please read extract from UNISON National Schools Committee Statement – 2 November 2020

“Therefore, during the new lockdown – to ensure the safety of pupils, staff and the community – schools and nurseries should move back to the arrangements implemented during the first lockdown earlier this year. This would mean keeping schools and nurseries open for children of key workers and vulnerable children, ensuring that they maintain their education and get a hot meal. Online learning should be put in place for all other children – with government providing IT equipment for disadvantaged pupils, so that they can learn from home effectively.

However, as the government intends to push the new measures through parliament on Wednesday, urgent steps are needed now to protect staff and pupils in schools that are open:

These should include:

1. Reduce risks by maximising social distancing and implement existing contingency plans for reduced class sizes and home learning (schools already have these plans in plans in place).

2. Reduce bubble sizes and introduce rotas to reduce risks.

3. Staff remaining within one bubble; so reducing the risk of spread across the school.

4. Moving whole bubbles to home learning where a pupil or member of staff develops coronavirus symptoms or receives a positive test.

5. Ensure that all school staff have priority access to the test and trace system.

6. Require all pupils and staff to wear face coverings while at school (including classrooms) as is policy in other countries e.g. France. Clear face masks to be made available so that pupils and staff who need to read lips are not disadvantaged. There should be exemptions for pupils and staff who cannot wear face coverings.

7. Move all clinically extremely vulnerable (CEV), clinically vulnerable (CV) and pregnant staff (3rd trimester) to home working as they are at the highest risk from becoming seriously ill if they catch the virus. CEV and CV staff who cannot work from home to stay at home on full pay.

8. Individual risk assessments for staff in high risk groups, such as Black staff, men over 50 and those with a BMI over 30. Staff identified as being at particular risk should also be allowed to work from home.

9. Permit and encourage staff (and pupils aged 16 and over) to use the NHS COVID app in school, including classrooms, as per DfE guidance.

10. Stronger measures on school transport and at the school gates to stop mixing, ensure social distancing and the wearing of face coverings.

11. Increase funding to schools to cover the increased costs of cleaning

To read full UNISON STATEMENT by clicking on link below

UNISON-National-Schools-Committee-Statement

What is the difference between working for TBG Flex and having a Barnet Homes Contract ?

2nd November 2020 admin Austerity, Barnet Group, Barnet Homes, TBG Flex

TBG Flex Pension Scheme query submitted to the Pensions Regulator – Barnet UNISON

If you joined the Barnet Group after 2017 you don’t actually work for either Your Choice Barnet [YCB] or Barnet Homes – Your employment contract is with TBG Flex.

So, what is TBG Flex?

TBG Flex is an employment company set up by the the Barnet Group with the purpose of not allowing entry in to the Local Government Pension Scheme [LGPS], giving employees inferior Terms and Conditions, lower Pay and longer working hours than staff who were employed before 2017.

For instance….

TBG Flex -The Basic working week for TBG Flex Staff is 37.5hrs

For staff employed before 2017 – 36hrs

TBG Flex Annual Leave is capped at a maximum of 25days for workers or 30 days for Directors and the CEO.[excluding Bank Holidays]

For staff employed before 2017 – at least 29 days for all staff. [excluding Bank Holidays]

TBG Flex Sickness – For TBG Flex staff – capped at 2 months full pay and then Statutory Sick Pay[SSP] of £95.85 per week for a maximum of 28 weeks.

For staff employed before 2017 – Sick Pay is capped at 6 months full pay and then 6 months half pay.

TBG Flex Overtime – For TBG Flex – No overtime rate – except for Christmas day which is paid at double time. The same applies for workers in YCB who were forcibly ‘opted out’ of Nationally Agreed Pay.

For staff employed before 2017 –Monday to Saturday Time and a half – Sundays and Public and Extra Statutory holidays Double time (min 2 hours).

TBG Flex Pension – upto 5% paid in to your pension [matching your contribution] as an employers contribution [10% for Senior managers, Directors and the CEO] – for every £1 invested by the worker TBG Flex invest £1.

For staff employed before 2017 – Local Government Pension Scheme – up to 6% contribution from the worker is matched by a 19% contribution from the employer – for every £1 invested by the worker the employer invests £3.50.

TBG Flex Continuation of Service [with other Local Government employers] – No

For staff employed before 2017– Yes – which means your accrued Annual Leave, Sickness Benefits, maternity pay and Pension is transferred to the new employer. This also means that your continuous service with other Local Government employers is recognised in relation to redundancy payments.

TBG Flex Pay – Evaluations of jobs reached by using the ‘HAY’ pay model – this evaluation scheme, in general ‘rewards’ jobs at the lower and medium end [most workers] with lower salaries than Barnet Homes contracted workers and at the higher end [senior management] with higher salaries.

Any Pay Rise has to be signed off by the Barnet Group Board.

For staff employed before 2017 in Barnet Homes – Evaluations of jobs reached by using the ‘Greater London Provincal Council’ [GLPC] pay model – this evaluation scheme, in general ‘rewards’ jobs at the lower and medium end [most workers] with slightly higher salaries than TBG Flex contracted workers and is consistent in ‘rewards’ offered across the business/council.

Any Pay Rise is Nationally Negotiated and implemented as soon as agreed.

N.B. This does NOT apply for workers in YCB who were forcibly ‘opted out’ of Nationally agreed pay – they have NEVER received a payrise since YCB’s inception.