17.11.2025 / Press releases / Justice for Cleaners / St Helier and Epsom

Over 500 St Helier and Epsom Hospital staff win £10 million NHS contract deal 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

Over 500 St Helier and Epsom Hospital staff win £10 million NHS contract deal 

·         Over 500 hundred UVW members force St George’s, Epsom and St Helier Hospital Group (GESH) to provide full NHS terms and conditions worth nearly £10 million.   

·         Cleaners, caterers and porters were brought in-house four years ago as NHS employees but denied NHS Agenda for Change (AfC) contracts, losing millions in pay, sick leave and other entitlements over the years. 

·         A strike ballot that saw 98% vote in favour of action forced hospital bosses 

·         This is believed to be the only dispute in the country where in-house NHS workers have had to vote to strike for AfC contracts and full equality with NHS colleagues. 

·         A UVW union report exposed £32 million in lost pay and benefits and £6 million in withheld pensions, hitting mostly Black, brown and migrant workers. 

·         Strike action was narrowly averted after a board vote on 6th November approved proposals to implement full AfC contracts.      

After years of being denied fair NHS pay, pensions and conditions, over 500 cleaners, porters, catering and patient transport staff at St Helier and Epsom hospitals – mostly Black, brown and migrant workers – have secured a landmark agreement with the hospital group. For years, these essential workers—who clean wards, transport patients, and prepare meals—had repeatedly requested NHS terms and conditions but were ignored. 

It was only when they united under the banner of UVW, joined the union in their hundreds, built a powerful campaign and voted overwhelmingly—98% in favour of strike action—that the Trust finally entered negotiations. The resulting deal ensures that these workers will now receive NHS pay, pensions, annual leave, sick pay from day one, and all Agenda for Change enhancements. The landmark deal redistributes £10 million into the workers’ pockets after years of inequality. 

The workers will also now have their length of service formally recognised, impacting both their annual leave and sick pay entitlements — rights they had been denied for years. 

The St Helier and Epsom dispute stands out as the only Trust where in-house NHS workers have had to vote for strike action to secure AfC contracts and full equality with their NHS colleagues. 

The campaign included a workers’ march on the GESH board meeting in July to demand answers, widespread support from local residents, councillors, and London MPs, and the publication of a shocking UVW report — “NHS at 75: The Hidden Cost for Low-Paid, Migrant Workers at St Helier and Epsom Hospitals” (October 2025) — which exposed what it described as “institutional racism entrenched in the NHS.” 

The UVW workers’ survey revealed a two-tier system in which predominantly white staff enjoyed full NHS rights, while majority Black, brown, and migrant workers were systematically excluded. It found that cleaners, porters, and caterers had lost £32 million in pay and benefits over four years, with some underpaid by as much as £10,000 a year, and more than £6 million in pension entitlements unlawfully withheld. 

Pujan Sherpa, cleaner of 9 years at St Helier hospital and UVW member, said: 

“I’m very happy about the new contract. Before we had nothing (no NHS pay or T&Cs) and now we have a pay rise, NHS holidays, NHS, sick pay, NHS pensions… They will finally pay us better for working weekends, for example, which I do. Having more money in our pockets will have a big impact on our family life. “ 

Min Chale, cleaner of 9 years at St Helier hospital and UVW member, said: 

“We won this by joining UVW and fighting all together. One of our colleagues talked to us and explained things and we decided to join the union. Because we had been asking and waiting for years and nothing was changing. But UVW worked hard with us, spoke to us every day, supported us and encouraged us to keep our spirits high. We kept spreading the word and talking to each other and one by one we became hundreds. We got united and that gave us power to get a deal.” 

Shushima Limbu, cleaner of 9 years at St Helier hospital and UVW member, said: 

“I’m very happy with the new deal because we didn’t have anything before and we have got full AfC contracts now. We had to join UVW and fight but now we understand our rights. Before we joined our union, we didn’t know we had rights- it was all work, work, work and nothing else –  but now we know!” 

Petros Elia, UVW General Secretary, said:  

“This deal was not handed to these workers — it was extracted through their unity, courage, and the threat of strike action. After years of being ignored, underpaid and treated worse than second class, they forced the Trust to treat them as equals. However, the fight isn’t over, and our members remain strike-ready (the UVW strike mandate remains live). in case the bosses try and break the deal. There is also the matter of backpay that hasn’t been resolved, and legal action may be taken in respect of that if necessary. This victory is a testament to the power of workers standing together, and they are true NHS heroes. “ 

For more information contact the UVW comms team 

Cristina: 07548 759340 

Isabel: 07706 987443  

E-mail: comms@uvwunion.org.uk     

  

Notes for editors  

 The St George’s, Epsom and St Helier Hospital Group (GESH) runs St Heliers and Epsom hospitals in South London and Surrey. 

Contracts for NHS staff are governed by the 2004 Agenda for Change (AfC), which provides much better conditions than privately outsourced workers. 

 Despite doing essential frontline work at St Heliers and Epsom Hospitals, facilities workers who were previously employed by Mitie and brought back in house 4 years ago, earn less than NHS Band 2 staff – £13.85 per hour versus £14.92 – losing out on thousands annually. 

They miss out on key benefits such as paid sick leave from day 1, and enhanced nights and weekend pay, which can boost NHS wages to £20 and £27 per hour for Band 2. They are also tuck on 24 days’ holiday, with no increase for length of service, unlike colleagues who receive up to 33 days plus Bank Holidays.  

Under the new deal, staff with under five years’ service will receive 27 days of annual leave per year (up from 24). Those with 5–10 years’ service will receive 29 days, and those with over 10 years will receive 33 days, in line with NHS standards.  

Sick pay will start from Day 1 of sickness, with staff entitled to one month of full pay and one month of half pay per year of service, up to a maximum of six months’ full pay and six months’ half pay.  

NHS pensions are from now finally accessible to these workers (23.7% employer contributions instead of their current meagre 3%.. 

Jacqueline Toprterdell, GESH CEO, earned £315,000 before stepping down in July 2025, according to a May 2025 Taxpayers Alliance study, 

United Voices of the World is an anti-racist, member-led, direct action, campaigning trade union and we exist to support and empower the most vulnerable groups of precarious, low-paid and predominantly BAME and migrant workers in the UK. We fight the bosses through direct action on the streets and through the courts and demand that all members receive at least the London Living Wage, full pay, sick pay, dignity, equality and respect. 

SHARE