Lincolnshire fireman paid £50 for month’s work

A firefighter was stunned to find that he had only been paid £50 for a month’s work.
Chairman of Lincolnshire Fire Brigade Union Ben Selby says 'mistakes are unacceptable'Chairman of Lincolnshire Fire Brigade Union Ben Selby says 'mistakes are unacceptable'
Chairman of Lincolnshire Fire Brigade Union Ben Selby says 'mistakes are unacceptable'

He is one of many firefighters who have not received the right salary payment in the wake of major problems with the way Lincolnshire County Council pays its staff and suppliers, according to the Fire Brigades Union (FBU).

Last week we reported that hundreds of council staff, including teachers, have been underpaid since service firm Serco took over responsibility for the council’s finance services just under four months ago. Serco won a £71 million deal to deliver customer service, HR and finance services for Lincolnshire County Council when the contract with previous provider Mouchel ended.

Following the article, the Lincolnshire chairman of the FBU, Ben Selby, contacted the Journal to say that the errors in payments were also affecting firefighters.

He said: “Many firefighters have not had a correct pay slip since April. In one instance, one of our members received just £50 for a month’s work.

“The mistakes are unacceptable and are causing hardship for some firefighters. While money is being put into accounts when the mistakes are reported, many of the firefighters affected don’t know if they are being paid the correct amount.”

He added: “Our biggest concern is about payment of pension contributions.

“If these are not being paid properly, there is a fear that this may be seen by the pension company as a break in payment, which could ultimately affect the level of pension paid out. What we want is reassurances that the pensions will not be affected.”

A Serco spokesperson said: “There have been some issues that have impacted on employees in the fire service. Where these have occurred we have made immediate supplementary payments and hardship payments where necessary.

“We have apologised to the Fire Service and throughout kept an open dialogue, proactively informing them of likely issues in advance.”