Pay reductions in the IT department of Bath and North East Somerset Council have raised serious concerns about the council’s vulnerability to cyber attacks. Stuart Batson, IT service delivery manager, warned at a Unison-organized protest that slashing salaries sends the wrong message at a time when cyber security is critically important.
The newly approved pay structure, effective from June 1, cuts pay for 106 council roles including roughly a third of the IT department’s 22 staff members. Those affected face pay freezes for three years, despite national pay awards, due to the council’s pay protection policy. Meanwhile, 62% of the council’s 3,500 employees will receive pay increases under the new scheme.
Batson emphasized the crucial yet mostly unseen work the IT team undertakes—from safeguarding sensitive data to keeping vital council systems operational. His concerns were underscored shortly after the protest when the council website partially went offline during a meeting, prompting IT staff to restore access outside normal hours.
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“Our council is now devaluing our role at a time when we are seeing so many councils hacked,” Batson said. “If we aren’t up to scratch, if we’re not proactive, then we put the whole council at risk.”
He described the pay cuts as demoralizing and warned that recruitment challenges will intensify in an already competitive environment. “We have an excellent track record with zero cyber incidents since 2013,” Batson noted. “But if we lose skilled staff, the risk of breaches increases.”
The council’s defense is that pay protection ensures no immediate overall reduction will occur, and pay rates might eventually rise over three years. Nevertheless, Batson fears that the freeze amounts to a real-terms pay cut once inflation is factored in.
The proposed cuts also raise questions around equal pay. With recent in-housing of adult social care contracts—largely a female workforce—Unison speculates that lowering pay in predominantly male departments like IT might be an attempt to avoid equal pay claims. Council social worker and Unison activist Toni Mayo stated, “As a woman and a social worker, I don’t want equal pay addressed by men being paid less. We want women to be paid more.”
Despite fierce opposition, the “Being Our Best” pay policy passed unanimously on May 14, with council chief executive Will Godfrey affirming the goal of a “fair, sustainable, and modern pay structure.” However, the IT team fears that the cuts could compromise the council’s cyber defenses and undermine the morale and retention of critical staff.