In a significant legal victory, a group of predominantly Black and minority ethnic cleaning staff at Great Ormond Street Hospital have successfully appealed against a previous employment tribunal ruling, with the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) finding that they had been subjected to “indirect race discrimination” due to the delay in receiving NHS pay and benefits.
The case, brought by 80 cleaners who were employed by OCS Group UK Ltd between 2016 and 2021, centred on the fact that when their contracts were transferred to the hospital in 2021, they were not immediately granted the higher “Agenda for Change” (AfC) pay rates and better terms and conditions enjoyed by directly employed NHS staff.
Instead, the cleaners were initially paid the London living wage of £10.75 per hour, rather than the AfC rate of £11.50, and had inferior benefits such as sick pay and annual leave. The cleaners, who are members of the United Voices of the World union and were represented by law firm Leigh Day, argued that this situation placed them at a significant disadvantage compared to their predominantly white peers.
In a strongly worded judgment, the EAT accepted the cleaners’ claim, ruling that the delay in providing them with the same pay and conditions as directly employed NHS staff amounted to unlawful indirect racial discrimination.
Petros Elia, the general secretary of United Voices of the World, welcomed the decision, stating: “For too long, thousands of predominantly Black, Brown and migrant facilities workers – cleaners, porters, caterers and security staff – have been treated as second-class citizens. The EAT ruling confirms 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.”
The Leigh Day solicitor Aman Thakar praised the “extraordinary resilience and determination” of the cleaners in pursuing the case, which has now set an important precedent for outsourced workers in the NHS.
Great Ormond Street Hospital said it was “carefully reviewing” the decision, and acknowledged that the process of harmonising staff into NHS employment had been “complex.” The hospital stated that it valued its cleaning and domestic services colleagues and had worked hard to integrate them into the organisation in a way that “worked best for individual staff.”
If the hospital does not appeal the ruling, the case is expected to move to discussions over the financial remedy that the cleaners will receive as a result of their successful appeal.