Frequently Asked Questions

After more than seven months of pay negotiations, management imposed a real-terms pay cut and refused to make an improved offer. Frontline staff who deliver life-saving drug and alcohol treatment have faced real-terms pay cuts of up to 24% over the past decade. Union members voted overwhelmingly for action after rejecting management’s offer.

A fair, immediate pay rise and a multi-year plan to restore pay lost to inflation, transparency on executive pay, worker representation at Board level, and a formal response to the cost-of-living crisis affecting staff. Unite submitted a member-led claim for a 6.7% increase.

In January 2026, management offered 2.5%, amounting to a real-terms cut of around 2%. 94% of union members rejected it on a 62% turnout. By the fifth pay meeting, after more than seven months, management had still not presented an improved offer and confirmed it would impose the pay cut. You can read the full negotiations timeline for details.

Staff have not stopped caring. The aim of this campaign is to protect services by keeping experienced workers in post, because high turnover and understaffing are the real threats to continuity of care. We have written directly to the people we support in our message to service users.

Yes. Over five years the Deputy CEO’s pay rose by 52.6%, around £60,000, a real-terms increase of 43.1%, while frontline staff saw real-terms cuts of between 12.7% and 21.7%. The full breakdown is on the executive pay page.

In November 2025, while telling frontline staff there was no money for a pay rise, management secretly awarded CQC Registered Managers a £2,500 annual allowance, costing roughly £1 million a year. It was made without agreement through recognised union structures and only admitted after whistleblowers exposed it.

The financial data shows the money exists; it is a question of priorities. CGL is funded directly by public money, and local authority commissioners have a duty to ensure public funds are not used to sustain poverty pay. Read more on public advocacy.

Members of the public can write to commissioners, share the campaign on social media, and follow updates. Change Grow Live staff can join Unite and take part in lawful industrial action, which is legally protected. Visit the action centre to get involved, or see still undecided? if you are weighing up joining.

The campaign is run by Change Grow Live workers who are members of Unite the Union, standing together for fair pay restoration and a stronger voice at work.