Around 80 hospital cleaners have won an employment appeal tribunal (EAT) against Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) NHS Trust.
The case was brought by Black, brown and migrant workers at the hospital, who are represented by the trade union United Voices of the World (UVW) and were supported by law firm Leigh Day.
The workers had previously been employed by the subcontractor OCS, but on lower pay and conditions than directly employed NHS staff. Following a campaign by UVW, they were brought in-house in 2021, but the transfer onto NHS pay and terms was delayed by 18 months. They argued that this was unreasonable, unlawful, and indirectly race discriminatory.
The EAT accepted that the delay constituted indirect racism and disproportionately disadvantaged Black and brown workers compared to their band two colleagues. It stated that it was unreasonable, unlawful and indirectly discriminatory under the Equality Act 2010.
As a result, the workers are entitled to back payment for the difference between the pay and benefits they received and what they should have had under their NHS contracts.
Petros Elia, general secretary at UVW, said: “This is not just a victory; it is a historic rupture in the systemic injustice that has plagued the NHS for decades. The EAT’s ruling confirms what we have always known: that forcing these workers to wait months or years for the pay and conditions they are legally entitled to is not just bad practice, it is unlawful race discrimination.”
Aman Thakar, employment solicitor at Leigh Day, added: “The EAT has recognised that it is not lawful for an NHS trust to benefit from the labour of predominantly global majority workers while denying them the pay and conditions afforded to their colleagues. The judgment makes clear that responsibility cannot be avoided through delay after workers transfer in-house. Our clients have shown extraordinary resilience and determination in pursuing this case, and this outcome brings them one step closer to justice and equality.”
A GOSH spokesperson said: “Our cleaning and domestic services colleagues are valued members of our team at GOSH. This was a complex process, and we worked hard to harmonise staff into NHS employment quickly and in ways that worked best for individual staff. We are carefully reviewing the EAT decision. As the appeal process is ongoing, it would not be appropriate to comment further.”
