Ealing Council Accused of Setting Parking Ticket Targets
Standard article says recordings show staff have a quota each shift
A Greener Ealing parking attendant
February 14, 2025
Ealing Council is facing calls from Unite the Union to end what it claims is a policy of pressuring staff to issue a quota of parking tickets every 8-hour shift.
The setting of parking ticket or parking fine revenue targets is prohibited under The Traffic Management Act, but The Standard newspaper has been given recordings in which employees of the council’s wholly owned contractor, Greener Ealing Ltd (GEL), can be heard being told that they have to issue 10 or 11 tickets each shift. Those failing to do so are faced with disciplinary action for ‘low performance’.
A manager is heard on one of the recordings telling staff last July that GEL’s expected ticketing rate is ‘1.27 per hour’. In another recording made in November, a staff member is berated for poor performance and he responds by saying he didn’t see any contraventions.
GEL assumed responsibility for parking enforcement in Ealing on 1 April 2024, taking over from the previous contractor, Serco. In another instance, a manager confirms that Serco wasn’t investigating low ticket issuance, but things were changing under GEL.
A dispute between Unite and Ealing Council over union recognition continues.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said, “As well as ripping off residents over parking, Greener Ealing and the council are putting workers in danger. Pressuring them to hit unlawful ticket targets is a surefire way to increase the abuse and assaults these enforcement officers face on a regular basis. This is exactly why the council needs to recognise their union so they can be properly represented.”
A spokesperson for Ealing council said, “The council does not set PCN targets as part of its contract with GEL. Instead, the number of PCNs issued per hour is used as one of several performance measures, reflecting the varying compliance levels across the borough.
“The council is committed to supporting the wellbeing of staff and ensuring a balanced approach to performance and service delivery.”
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