Almost 1,800 staff at the Barts Health NHS Trust are to benefit from NHS pay, terms and conditions after a successful campaign by trade unions and their members. The cleaners, porters, security guards and domestic staff, grouped together as “soft facilities management”, at the trust’s hospitals are currently employed by Serco, but from 1 May 2023 they will be transferred across to join the existing 17,000 Barts Health staff as NHS employees under Agenda for Change (AfC) conditions.
Serco won the contract in a competitive tender in 2017, but has served notice that it will terminate early, at the end of April 2023. Following this announcement, the trust and trade unions explored alternative options to outsourcing. The Board agreed to pursue one that was both “financially advantageous but would also improve the quality of service, be flexible in response to demand, and maximise engagement with staff.”
Full story in The Lowdown, 8 March 2022
