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02.02.2026 / News / GOSH / Justice for Cleaners / St Helier and Epsom

Hospital cleaners win historic race discrimination appeal against Great Ormond Street Hospital

“Finally, we have the justice we have been fighting for.“

Mamuna, GOSH cleaner and UVW member

The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has upheld a landmark appeal brought by 80 cleaners at Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH), members of the United Voices of the World (UVW) trade union, who claimed indirect race discrimination after being kept on inferior pay and terms for 18 months following their transfer to NHS employment. The EAT ruled this delay unreasonable, unlawful, and indirectly discriminatory under the Equality Act 2010. This is a historic case brought by Black, brown and migrant workers and a key victory in UVW’s nearly decade-long fight to end discriminatory outsourcing and in-housing, particularly in the public sector. 

Mamuna, one of the claimants and a UVW member, said: “Finally, we have the justice we have been fighting for. I am so happy — it is hard to find the words to express what this victory means to us. For so long we were treated as if we did not matter — dismissed, disrespected, called ‘cleaners’ instead of by our names. Today we know our voices matter. Before, no one listened to us. Now we are recognised as workers who deserve dignity and respect.”

The cleaners, all Black, brown and migrant workers, had previously been employed by a subcontractor, OCS, on lower pay and conditions than directly employed NHS staff. Following a sustained campaign by UVW, they were brought in-house in 2021, but their NHS pay and terms were delayed by one and a half years. The EAT accepted that the delay constituted indirect racism, disproportionately disadvantaging Black and brown workers as compared to their band 2 colleagues.  

The ruling means the workers are entitled to back payment for the difference between the pay and benefits they received and what they should have received under their NHS contracts. The total owed is potentially in the millions. 

This landmark victory builds on a series of groundbreaking legal claims by UVW, including the Royal Parks case, where outsourced workers challenged discriminatory pay and conditions. Together, these cases form part of UVW’s relentless, nearly decade-long fight to end the discriminatory practise of outsourcing, particularly in the public sector, where predominantly Black, brown and migrant workers have been systematically pushed into lower-paid, insecure roles.  “The union has done so much for us. UVW stood by us and fought for us every step of the way. This is the best union I have ever known,” Mamuna says.

This is not just a victory; it is a historic rupture in the systemic injustice that has plagued the NHS for decades. For too long, thousands of predominantly Black, Brown and migrant facilities workers—the cleaners, porters, caterers and security staff—have been treated as second-class citizens and paid third-class wages, whether outsourced or in-housed – despite being the backbone of our health service. 

This precedent, forged in the tireless four-year legal fight of our members at Great Ormond Street, provides hope for every worker being exploited across the country. UVW is now exploring similar legal claims to enforce rights for NHS workers facing the same discrimination, such as UVW members employed as NHS facilities workers at St Helier and Epsom hospitals, whose successful strike ballot last year forced the St George’s, Epsom and St Helier Hospital Group (GESH) to bring them onto NHS Agenda for Change (AfC) contracts four years after being brought-in house. 

Mamuna has a message for all workers: “My message to other workers is this: we are mothers. We wake up early to care for our children, then we go to work. When you are discriminated against at work, it hurts — especially when you leave your children behind expecting to be treated with respect. Do not give up. Keep fighting. Justice will come. Every worker deserves to go to work feeling safe, respected, and at peace. We support you — and together, we will win.” 

The message to every NHS trust is clear: the era of a two-tier workforces is over. Enough of hiding behind excuses of bureaucracy or ‘complexity. Bring your staff in-house immediately and grant them full rights from day one. 

The GOSH workers are represented by UK law firm, Leigh Day on behalf of UVW.

UVW stands shoulder to shoulder with every worker demanding equality – and we will win for all.

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