Proposals by George Eliot Hospital in Nuneaton to move hundreds of health workers to a subsidiary company have been reversed after a campaign by staff, says UNISON.

The union said hospital managers’ attempts to farm out its employees were in direct opposition to new government rules on outsourcing. NHS England issued guidance in September saying any proposals to move health staff into subsidiary companies, known as SubCos, should be paused.

It also said any future transfer of workers would only be approved if there was clear union support. However, George Eliot Hospital said last month that it still intended to shift around 400 employees, including cleaners, porters, and caterers, to a SubCo.

Outsourced workers often have lower pay and worse conditions than those employed directly by the NHS, says UNISON. They are also less likely to have the same access to career opportunities and pensions, added the union 

The move prompted protests from staff and the threat of strike action. The trust has now climbed down and halted its transfer plans. The union described the case as “bizarre” because the author of the new national guidance also runs George Eliot Hospital.

Glen Burley is NHS England's financial reset and accountability director. He sent the new guidance on outsourcing to NHS trusts in September. He is also chief executive of the Foundation Group, which includes George Eliot Hospital NHS Trust.

UNISON West Midlands regional organiser Ollie Hopkins said: “The guidance on outsourcing staff is quite clear and it shouldn’t have taken the threat of strike action to get George Eliot Hospital to do the right thing.

“It’s even more bizarre considering the person in charge of running the hospital is the same guy who wrote to trusts telling them to stop farming workers out to SubCos. The NHS relies on support staff to keep hospitals clean, safe and running efficiently. They deserve the same pay and conditions as other health workers.

“Any hospital that tries to transfer its staff out to these companies will be met with strong opposition and the threat of strike action.”

  • Subsidiary companies are owned by NHS trusts but set up at arms-length as non-NHS bodies. NHS trusts previously set up SubCos to allow them to outsource support services and their staff, like those in facilities or administration.
  • Health workers at three NHS trusts in Dorset had voted to take strike action in a bid to fight efforts to shift thousands of them to a subsidiary company. However, on the back of the new guidance, hospital bosses said they were axing plansto move staff.
  • In its New deal for working people, Labour promised to “bring about the biggest wave of insourcing of public services in a generation.” The Labour manifestosaid the new deal would be implemented in full.
  • UNISON is the UK’s largest union, with more than 1.3 million members providing public services in education, local government, the NHS, police service and energy.