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Hospital workers in London employed by a private agency could face five more years of lower wages, less holiday and worse sick pay than their NHS-employed colleagues thanks to a new emergency deal signed by their health trust.
The lack of sick pay has meant even people with Covid symptoms could not afford to stay off work in some cases, one worker told HuffPost UK. Nearly four fifths of the ISS workers at the Homerton in Hackney are from Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) backgrounds – communities that were disproportionately impacted by Covid-19.
Yet ISS Mediclean, their employer, has just inked a fresh five-year contract with the trust.
“They came to us in the middle of Covid and told us: ‘We couldn’t function without you,’” they said.
“So why is it that we don’t deserve NHS pay? Why is it that we don’t deserve sick pay?”
It comes as 900,000 public sector workers, including NHS staff – but not agency employees – were given the promise of a real-terms pay rise on Tuesday. Policing minister Kit Malthouse blamed privatisation for the fact social care workers would not be eligible, saying the government had no control over the wages set by individual companies such as ISS.
Concerns have been raised about the way Homerton University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust has sought to renew the contractor’s five-year deal.
Unison, their union, claims the contract will lock cleaners, caterers, porters and security staff into another five years of poorer wages and working conditions than their directly-employed NHS counterparts.
Workers employed under the ISS Mediclean contract have laboured throughout Covid-19, but earn less and get fewer days’ annual leave than NHS employees, and are eligible only for statutory sick pay – £95.85 a week. By contrast, NHS workers typically receive full pay if they are unwell.
Contracts for providing services to NHS trusts are supposed to go through a tendering process, but Homerton University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust said uncertainties surrounding Covid-19 justified awarding the contract directly under an emergency “voluntary ex-ante transparency” (VEAT) notice, which allowed it to bypass the competitive tendering process.
A VEAT notice can only be issued under certain conditions, and Unison believes that these have not been met.
In an open letter to health secretary Matt Hancock, Unison London’s regional secretary Maggi Ferncombe asked for a direct intervention to prevent the contract from being awarded to ISS. With the company currently in negotiations with the trust, it is expected that the contract will be signed within a matter of weeks.
The ISS employee, who works at the hospital but asked not to be identified, told HuffPost UK: “We just couldn’t believe, when we heard the news, that they were talking about giving them another five years because there have been so many problems for staff.
“People haven’t been paid properly, and staff have been unhappy with problems not being resolved. Staff have been complaining about this for a long time and it looks like nothing is being done.
“We got all this thanks from the trust for all the work we put in to get through the height of the Covid crisis when the hospital was packed, but then to be told so close to the end of this contract that they want to do another five years [with ISS] when there have been so many problems feels like a huge slap in the face.”
Unison full time officer Michael Etheridge explained the difference between the contracts signed by NHS staff and ISS staff. He said: “As they’re [ISS workers] contracted out with a private company, the terms and conditions of their contracts are much inferior to the NHS contracts.
“NHS workers get quite a generous occupational sick pay scheme, a pension scheme and a salary scale with clear routes of progression.
“ISS staff don’t have access to any of that. They have statutory sick pay, with a sick pay credit scheme which is incredibly complicated and falls way short of what they would get in the NHS.
“They have a statutory pension as well, no occupational scheme, and their pay is way lower. They receive London Living Wage, as of April 2020, but prior to that they were being paid below the London Living Wage – and that’s still 75p less an hour than they would be earning if they were employed directly by the NHS.”
A spokesperson for ISS told HuffPost UK they were “unable” to comment at the current stage of the process.
Asked if people had felt forced to work through the Covid-19 crisis even if they felt ill due to a lack of sick pay, the ISS employee said: “Absolutely – everyone was very scared of getting sick. A lot of people came into work because they couldn’t afford not to.
“I just don’t understand how it’s possible for a hospital to run like that. Even with Covid people were asking ‘if I get symptoms will I even get that pay?’ because there were so many issues with pay beforehand.
“When you have such an infectious virus you can’t afford to take those kinds of risks. You can’t afford to have people coming into work sick.”
Even at the height of the pandemic, when staff had pulled together in a bid to tackle the virus, the anonymous employee said there was clear evidence of a “two-tier system”. When PPE ran short in the early days of the crisis, they said, ISS staff were told by some NHS employees that supplies of protective equipment were to be used by NHS staff only.
They said: “The fact that there are some staff on smaller salaries, on worse terms and conditions, encourages the idea that there are the NHS staff and then there’s the rest, and NHS staff are entitled to more.”
They spoke of a “two-tier system, where it feels like our lives are less important”.
The employee added: “I just find it horrific that a nearly 80% Black and ethnic minority workforce is facing lower working conditions than the rest of the hospital.
“Especially in Hackney, where we’re serving such a large Black and minority ethnic population, I just don’t see any way in which that can be justified, especially in the context of the Black Lives Matter movement.”
Labour MP Diane Abbott said: “I fully support the union campaign against this outsourcing deal at the Homerton. The contract is a slap in the face to all the essential workers who been keeping this NHS unit running and potentially means they will have much worse pay and conditions for up to five years.
“This is bad news for workers and for patients too, who rely on all essential workers. These workers deserve pay and terms that are least reasonable, and this campaign should continue until Matt Hancock is forced to intervene.”
A DHSC spokesperson said: “NHS trusts are guided by public procurement regulations when considering awarding contracts to external providers.
“This is a matter for the local NHS trust, who have been closely engaging with stakeholders throughout the process.”
In a lengthy statement a spokesperson for Homerton University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust said ISS had provided the hospital with a “high quality service” which had been deemed a contributory factor to Homerton’s recent “outstanding” rating from watchdog the Care Quality Commission.
They added: “A five-year contract with ISS will provide stability and continuity at a time when our energies will be focused on the gradual but steady return of services to pre-emergency levels, whilst mindful of having to adapt to any re-emergence of coronavirus in our communities.
“We have listened to ISS staff concerns on a number of issues and are seeking firm assurances from ISS that these concerns are addressed. We have not dismissed the in-house option for some facilities services in the future and will continue to look into this option in the longer term.”
The trust said the VEAT notice fully complied with requirements set out the in the Public Contracts Regulation, describing its use as “entirely regular”.
They added that “internal discussions” had taken place with union and staff representatives leading to improved terms and conditions for ISS employees, particularly regarding sick pay.