Previously outsourced staff working in facilities management at five hospitals across East London will be brought back into NHS direct employment from May 2023 thanks to UNISON’s negotiations with the Barts Health NHS Trust.
Around 1,800 cleaners, receptionists, porters, catering and security staff and others currently employed by Serco on one of the largest soft facilities management (SFM) contracts in the NHS will now be directly employed by the NHS from May 2023.
This follows the trust’s board’s decision yesterday to bring the services Serco currently provides back in house following the expiration of their contract at the end of April 2023.
Staff will be joining the existing 17,000 staff at Barts currently employed under Agenda for Change (AfC) conditions. This will improve their pay prospects, currently based on the trust’s commitment to the London Living Wage.
UNISON general secretary Christina McAnea said: “After extensive campaigning, it’s great that cleaners, receptionists, porters, catering and security staff and others at Barts will be employed directly by the NHS again.
“These staff kept our hospitals running at the height of the pandemic. They’re the heart of the NHS, and they deserve to be treated as such.
“It’s a welcome move that the trust has done the right thing and brought staff back in house.”
UNISON regional organiser Pam Okuns-Edokpayi said: “This is a fantastic result for a group of staff who fully deserve to be fully part of the NHS again.
“UNISON is proud of the deal we negotiated, but it wouldn’t have been possible without the support of our members at Barts. Thanks to them, we’re the largest and most effective union in the NHS.
“This means being able to deliver on the issues that matter like bringing this contract back in house.”
Notes to editors:– UNISON is the UK’s largest union with more than 1.3 million members providing public services in education, local government, the NHS, police service and energy. They are employed in the public, voluntary and private sectors.
– The five hospitals covered by the Trust and the contract are Mile End Hospital, Newham University Hospital, Royal London Hospital, St Bartholomew’s Hospital and Whipps Cross University Hospital.
Media Contact: Nathan Burns M: 07813 722747 E: n.burns@unison.co.uk