Go North East bus drivers' pay hit after cyber attack on Go Ahead

Hundreds of drivers at depots across the North East have been impacted by payroll issues after a number of systems were taken offline on September 5.

The company, which is owned by Go Ahead, is among several transport companies across the UK to be impacted - with similar problems reportedly company-wide.

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However, drivers say they have been left with incorrect pay - and in some cases, workers paid just £99 for more than 39 hours worth of work.

Go North East in Chester-le-Street (Image: SARAH CALDECOTT)

One said: "Two weeks ago, the email and all computer systems crashed, a few days later they told us it was a cyber attack.

"We are paid weekly and because of no payroll computer they just duplicated the previous weeks' wages and told us all they will adjust it accordingly when the payroll is up and running.

"This Thursday, we have been paid like last week."

The worker, who asked to remain anonymous, said that colleagues who had been on sick leave prior to the incident were still being paid sick pay, despite returning to work.

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According to the Government website, the Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) given to workers as a minimum is £99.35.

The worker added: "There's been a number of staff who have just returned from sick - this has resulted in staff working over 39 hours and they're being paid at a sick pay rate.

"In a few cases that is SSP, which you can imagine will cause significant hardship. We have no idea when things will get back to normal."

Other workers have said they are not yet aware of what personal details have been accessed following the breach, saying they have been left furious.

Another worker said they had received significantly less than the previous week, creating problems with paying bills on time.

They said: "It's disgraceful, I've now been paid wrong for the past fortnight and received just over a £100 for three weeks in a row.

"There's a cost of living crisis and this is not sustainable."

In response to the concerns, Go Ahead confirmed there were issues with its payroll, saying that it is "committed" to ensuring affected workers are paid correctly.

A spokesperson said: "Go-Ahead has been managing a cyber security incident since detecting unauthorised activity on its network on Monday 5 September 2022.

"We responded immediately and the incident was quickly contained.

"Regrettably, initial findings suggest that personal data belonging to certain colleagues has been accessed by a third party.

"We have informed all colleagues potentially affected and are providing advice and support, including offering 12 months’ Experian credit monitoring.

"The cyber security incident has temporarily restricted access to our payroll records. Our priority has been to ensure everybody is paid on time. For this reason, Go North East repeated a previous week’s pay run.

"Those who were on sick pay during the previous week have had their pay topped up. We have committed to all our colleagues that once our payroll system has been restored, they will receive any further money due.

"If anybody faces an urgent hardship issue, we are ready to help. Throughout this process we have maintained a dialogue with unions."

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