Children’s social care workers at Bath & North East Somerset Council are balloting for strike action after controversial pay changes left morale “shot to bits”.
The UNISON practice picket in Keynsham on 14th January | Photo © Amy Rushton
Team managers and deputy team managers in children’s social care were sent ballot papers last week to vote on whether to take industrial action, after they were put on the same pay grade as some of the staff they manage.
An earlier “indicative” ballot, to measure support for industrial action ahead of an official ballot, came back 100% in favour on a 100% turnout.
UNISON branch chair Amy Rushton said: “B&NES is underpaying its managers in children’s social care compared to other local authorities and it is the only local authority that has a bottleneck where front line staff are managed by workers on the same grade.
“They have got this wrong but are refusing to put it right. The longer this goes on the more staff we are going to lose.”
UNISON branch secretary Toni Mayo warned: “People are leaving in droves and workloads are unsafe.
“It’s utter chaos, and members are angry both about what the council are doing and how it’s being done.”
The ballot closes on 4th February, with the result expected to be made public within days. A UNISON figure said: “With the pace that members are returning their ballots, we may know sooner.”
A host of roles across the council were regraded in 2025 as part of the council’s “being our best” programme (BOB).
Ms Mayo said: “BOB itself was imposed unilaterally despite being rejected by members in a consultative ballot, and without any worker input into role profiles.”
“Communications have been incredibly poor, it’s not unusual for people to wait weeks for a response from this ‘ask BOB’ email address.
“Three-quarters of appeals about role profiles and grades were at least partially upheld, with two-thirds fully upheld.”
She added: “Morale is shot to bits. In children’s social care we’ve been told we have to wait almost an extra year for a resolution. People are leaving in droves and workloads are unsafe.
“It’s utter chaos, and members are angry both about what the council are doing and how it’s being done.”
A spokesperson for Bath & North East Somerset Council said: “Changes to pay structures are complex, and there are many factors to consider.
“We worked with unions and staff over long period of time to look at a wider set of changes to pay and role profiles across the council which were implemented last year.
“All our staff are valued and we are listening to children’s services and have been working hard with Unison and ACAS to resolve this.”
Over 40 people, including UNISON staff from across the council, attended a “practice picket” outside Keynsham Civic Centre on the morning of Wednesday 14th January to show support as the ballots were sent out.
Social worker and team manager Claire Luxton, who has worked for the council for 15 years, said: “In this job we go above and beyond. We do it because we love the job and the council isn’t supporting us.”
Her colleague, David Wells, added: “I feel really sad that the council can’t support its social work managers.
“For a workforce that operates almost solely on good will, it has quickly run out.”
Labour Keynsham town councillors Martin Burton, Chris Davis, and Deb Cooper also attended the practice picket, along with Dave Biddleston (also Labour), who represents Keynsham South on Bath & North East Somerset Council.
Councillor Biddleston said: “Social work is a highly skilled profession, and we should be paying people fairly for their expertise, experience and responsibility.
“When pay structures fail to reflect real-world roles and accountability, it damages morale, retention and ultimately the safety and quality of services. Councils cannot afford to get this wrong.”
BOB was met with protests when it was introduced in 2025. Although it resulted in a pay increase for most council staff, pay for 106 roles at the council was reduced to a lower level.
Under the council’s pay protection policy, the people in those roles had their pay frozen for three years, after the national pay award is applied, to avoid people suffering a pay cut – but concerns remained about real terms losses and that some people could end up with less money on their payslip when the pay freeze expires.
The BOB acronym was also criticised as “demeaning”.
John Wimperis, Local Democracy Reporter
