GOSH welcomes domestic service colleagues as employees

From the outset, our 312 new employees will have access to the NHS pension scheme and the same sick pay entitlement as all other NHS staff. As a Trust, we have also made a number of improvements to their terms and conditions, in partnership with our recognised Trade Unions, particularly Unison and Unite.

• Every new colleague’s sickness entitlement will be paired up to their full length of service working on the GOSH site on transfer. This will mean equity for everyone regardless of which cleaning service outsourcing companies they’ve worked for at GOSH historically.
• In direct response to their feedback, and as we welcome them to our team, from 1 August 2021, we have removed the clocking in / clocking out system, which has been in place historically.
• All domestic services colleagues have seen their pay increased by 3%
• We have introduced a minimum hourly rate which matches the minimum set down under the NHS Agenda for Change framework

Our new colleagues play an incredibly important role in the smooth running of our hospital and in ensuring the highest standards of cleanliness and care for the children and young people we care for each year.

The decision to directly employ domestic service colleagues follows a review in 2020, conducted with an aim to ensure that we’re always going above and beyond to continually enhance health and safety management at GOSH.

By integrating domestic service colleagues into our workforce, we are able to set even clearer targets in line with our health and safety standards, as well as our organisational values, working more flexibly together as one team to deliver the best care for our patients.

The Trust’s domestic service colleagues will gain access to benefits received by other NHS staff, as well as wellbeing support available to GOSH employees. As part of our broader workforce, there will also be the opportunity for better engagement with wider teams and colleagues via staff forums and other platforms.

The Trust will review the terms and conditions of domestic service colleagues over the coming year and do what we can to ensure the wellbeing of the team.

Agenda for Change is the pay and terms and conditions system for all NHS staff (apart from doctors and dentists). As well as pay, sick leave and pension, it covers annual leave, hours of the working week, part-time employees and employees on fixed-term contracts and a range of other terms and conditions.

All domestic services staff are to be paid the London Living Wage of £10.85 per hour and will receive the same sick pay entitlement as all NHS staff. Over the coming weeks we will be working with our recognised Trade Union colleagues to explore opportunities and priorities to bring more terms and conditions in line with Agenda for Change.

[Please note that the text published on 5 Aug 2021 has been amended on 29 September 2021 to reflect the additional improvements to the terms and conditions offered to GOSH's domestic service colleagues. These relate to the third and fourth bullet points in the third paragraph.]

See our more recent news story Further improvements to terms and conditions for GOSH domestic services team published on 14 October 2021.