Double check your pay, ISS members warned after cyber attack
ISS-Facilities February 27 2020Hundreds of former BTFS housekeeping and security members are being urged by the union to carefully check their pay packets in the wake of a cyber attack on their employer’s IT systems.
Last week ISS – which conducts a wide range of cleaning and security for BT following last year’s disputed outsourcing of the previously in-house Facilities Services division – revealed that it was amongst a number of companies that had been targeted by hackers.
Amid prompt company moves to protect the integrity of its IT systems, the CWU has been keeping close tabs on developments amid concerns that the special contingency measures introduced by the company had the potential to impact on payroll and members’ pay.
Despite assurances secured by the union last week that payments would continue to be made as per the normal schedule, assistant secretary Brendan O’Brien stresses that anyone who has deviated significantly from their normal hours in the past fortnight – and especially those who have put in extra hours – need check their pay packets diligently.
“In the light of what has happened, people need to be that little bit more vigilant than they normally are in terms of checking that their pay reflects the hours they have actually worked,” Brendan explains.
“We’ve been encouraged by the seriousness and speed with which ISS has acted to allay staff concerns, and welcome the fact that the company has moved swiftly to circulate detailed advice to employees as to what they need to do if they believe they’ve been negatively impacted.
“We’re reassured that ISS is intent on resolving any problem areas that emerge as a matter of priority– which is just what we would have expected given that comparatively low paid people are especially vulnerable to unexpected payroll discrepancies.”
- Members in ISS are advised that any queries regarding pay should be taken up in the first instance with their line manager.