Barnet Council beat Amazon and ASDA to be voted “Bad Boss of the Year” by a trade union health and safety conference.
The vote came from delegates at the 35th National Hazards Conference of trade union health and safety reps and activists, which took place from 30 August to 1 September.
The organiser of the conference, Janet Newsham, cited the ongoing dispute between Barnet UNISON mental health social workers and the council, which has lasted more than a year, for the result.
Newsham, who is also chair of the Hazards Campaign, said: “The most votes went to Barnet Council because of the detrimental impact they were having on the UNISON members, their staff in general, and the consequences on the service they provide.”
Seventy percent of the 230 delegates at the Hazards Conference voted for Barnet Council, with Amazon coming in second and ASDA third.
Barnet mental health social workers have undertaken more than 80 days of strike action against the since 1 September 2023 in a dispute over their alleged refusal to agree retention pay for staff, the resulting high staff turnover, and the overall affect on safety for staff and service users.
Thirty-one mental health social workers have left the council in the last two years.
John Burgess, Barnet Unison branch secretary, said: “Most of the social workers part of the original ballot have left, which is unprecedented.
“The council are relying on either very newly qualified, or students, or agency/locum social workers.
“In our view it is catastrophic, unsustainable and something will happen.
“The strike was not about pay. The chant that started from day one was: ‘no waiting lists, safe service and fair pay’.
“In the view of Barnet UNISON, it is the council’s disregard for the high turnover in experienced mental health social workers which is producing unsafe conditions.
“To keep changing your social worker at the rate that takes place in Barnet Council does not help someone else’s health and wellbeing.
“If someone is suicidal and tomorrow, I resign, who picks that up?
“There are waiting lists for 17 months for people with acute mental health problems. That is scary stuff.”
Barnet Council has previously defended the outsourcing the provision of mental health social work service to cover the strike action.
The Hazards Conference, held at Keele University, also presented Barnet Unison branch a health and safety certificate of excellence for their campaign during the strike dispute against Barnet Council.
The yearly conference is one of the biggest grassroots gatherings for trade union safety reps and activists and is run by the Hazards Campaign, which supports those organising and campaigning for justice and safety at work.
Barnet Council disputed complaints about safety in the borough’s mental health social work.
A council spokesperson said: “Claims that Barnet Council and our mental health social work department are unsafe places to work are untrue.
“There has been no increase in the number of complaints or safeguarding concerns for the service in the past 12 months and our external audit data demonstrates high quality work from the mental health teams during the last year, including during periods of industrial action, with all audited cases meeting our standards for practice quality and recording.
“Service levels have remained consistent since April 2023, with no decline in assessments or reviews. As of August 24, only four low-risk Care Act assessments await allocation, all under a month old, with no carers waiting.
“Unison’s claims about waiting lists are not accurate.
“The average caseload for qualified social workers is 12, which is low by industry standards. During the strike, we outsourced additional capacity to keep residents safe and deliver our statutory responsibilities throughout the strike.
“This was a fully lawful step for the council to take.
“Staffing levels in the three teams of striking social workers are strong, with 80% permanent staff occupancy, the information published by Unison regarding this is inaccurate.
Length of service is higher than the national average, particularly in the Approved Mental Health Providers team. Unison’s claims about staff turnover are also inaccurate.
“We met Unison earlier in the summer, where both Unison and the council agreed on several next steps and also agreed to meet again. We remain open to continuing discussions.”
Featured Image: Barnet UNISON
Join the discussion