'You'll only get your money by taking it from disabled children'

Barry Rawlings made the bizarre outburst in a meeting with council employees who have missed out on 12 years’ of holiday pay and been offered just six months worth as a “goodwill payment” reports Leïla Davaud

Hendon Town Hall and (inset) council leader Barry Rawlings

“It is insulting,” says a Barnet Council waste worker who asked to stay anonymous while a dispute with council is ongoing.

Explaining the current situation to Barnet Post, he adds: “We are owed twelve years of holiday pay, twelve years during which some of us worked overtime for the council and the community. And all they have to say is that we get six months of backpay or nothing? No.”

The dispute started a year ago, when council employees contacted their trade union, Unison, about a new payment appearing on their payslips.

John Burgess, Barnet Unison branch secretary, tells the Post: “Legislation was passed in 2013 which said if you do regular overtime, you attract what’s called a holiday payment.

“For example, every £100 of overtime you work, you get £8.33 on top. The problem is, we discovered that Capita never paid it for the whole time they ran payroll.”

Private company Capita had provided payroll services for the local authority between October 2013 and 31st March 2025 as part of controversial outsourcing model dubbed ‘Easy Council’.

In 2025, the council gave the payroll contract to another private company, Liberata. The new provider started paying said holiday pay to people who work regular overtime, highlighting its absence throughout the previous decade.

Capita has made clear that it delivered the service as instructed by Barnet Council and the council does not dispute this.

Burgess says: “We immediately brought it up to the council. This involves hundreds of employees. Depot workers being the largest group impacted.” The depot is the operational base for street cleansing, waste collection and ground maintenance services.

“A ridiculous offer” says union

More than a year later, he says the matter is far from being settled. “The council came back to its employees with a ridiculous offer.

“Six months of backpay, based on the argument there is not enough money to repay everyone. On their own figures that works out at around 4p for every £1 actually owed. For a depot driver that’s the difference between roughly £600 and the £14,400 they’re actually owed.”

“It made a lot of people angry. It was rejected by all depot workers.”

The situation came to a head when workers had the opportunity to ask for accountability at one of council leader Barry Rawlings’ regular round of depot briefings.

The waste worker was present and recounts the workers’ discussion with Rawlings: “We asked why the council hadn’t gone to Capita to find out what went wrong. He was uncomfortable and evasive, until he started shouting at us. I kept asking where the money had gone and his answer was: ‘The only way you’re gonna get your money back is by taking it away from the disabled children’.”

Workers “shocked” by leader’s response

Also present at the briefing, a street cleaning worker confirmed the event. “There were about 90 of us that day. We were shocked! Not only did he confirm it had been spent, but he disrespected us once more with this response.”

His colleague from waste states: “There is no turning back. It has been a long time coming. It’s not the first issue we have reported that is being dismissed. We are taking action!”

John Burgess confirms: “The internal strike ballot ends on the 18th of August. The depot is like a real powder keg at the moment, an industrial ballot is expected to take place in the following weeks.”

At a Unison representatives meeting, employees wondered “how the council can possibly think it is handling the situation correctly?”

The waste worker adds: “Legally we can’t do anything because the relevant time limits have passed. We need to rely on them choosing to be morally good. It is not looking well at the moment.”

“No legal basis” for claim says council

A Barnet Council spokesperson said: “Although there is no legal basis for a backdated claim, we are in discussion with the trade unions about the appropriate level for a goodwill payment, recognising the significant financial challenges the council faces.

“We have engaged with the unions, who were aware of the court ruling that gave rise to the change. We introduced changes to overtime payments to reflect holiday pay for affected staff with effect from 1 April 2025.

“We are happy to work with the unions to review why payments were not introduced by the provider at an earlier stage.”

In its response to the Post, a spokesperson for Capita said: “Capita previously delivered payroll services to Barnet Council as a managed service. These services were provided at the direction of the council, in accordance with the council’s policies. Capita adhered to the terms of the contract.”

Green councillor: “we must value people who provide services”

Green Party Councillor Charli Thompson, however, has come forward in support of the depot employees. “These are the people who empty our bins, clean our streets and maintain our public spaces. This is hard physical labour, working outside in incredibly difficult conditions, including through the recent heatwaves.

“In my ward Woodhouse, street cleaning and bin collection comes up regularly in conversations with residents. People are dependent on this service and want to see more investment in it, not an undermining of it. We must value the people who provide it, with good pay and fair conditions.

“Barnet should be demanding that Capita contributes towards putting this right. Public services should be delivered in-house, with democratic accountability and workers employed on decent terms and conditions.”

Both waste collection and street cleansing workers press on that last point. The latter insists: “We said from day one, back in July 2025, that if the council was short of money the answer was to go after Capita. Why are they not doing it?”

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