A significant number of lower-paid NHS workers, many of whom risked their lives on the frontlines during the pandemic, have not received the £1,600 COVID bonus awarded to NHS staff last year, according to a survey conducted by Sky News. The majority of those missing out are cleaners, porters, and caterers employed by outsourcing companies, with unions claiming that women, particularly Black women, have been disproportionately affected.
Sky News found a mixed response from outsourcing firms—while some have passed on the bonus to their workers, others have not, leaving thousands without the financial recognition given to their NHS-employed counterparts.
The COVID bonus, designed to reward those who worked tirelessly during the height of the pandemic, was largely allocated to staff on NHS contracts. However, outsourced workers on different employment terms have been left out.
The Sky News cited Dima Hooper, a 57-year-old catering staff member at Homerton Hospital in east London, who is among those who didn’t receive the bonus. Employed by outsourcing company ISS, Dima contracted severe COVID in 2021, spending time on a ventilator in intensive care. She still suffers from long COVID. “A lot of us risked our lives during that time, working six days a week, 12 hours a day through that period. Some people lost their lives. Some people can’t work anymore. I just think it’s not fair because we [were] all there at the same time, doing the work,” Hooper to The Sky News.
There are many other similar cases, where nurses employed by private firms contracted by the NHS, who also feel they have been unfairly excluded from the bonus.
Some Homerton Hospital workers received the bonus if their contracts predated outsourcing, under what’s known as “Agenda for Change” terms. But for many others, including Dima’s colleagues, the reward never materialized. ISS, like many other companies, said its employees typically do not qualify for the bonus, though some eligible staff at Homerton did receive payments in line with government funding.
Campaigners outside Homerton Hospital are calling for the NHS to bring outsourced services back in-house. A petition with over 500 signatures from hospital staff has been raised, demanding equal treatment for all workers.
ISS stated it remains in discussions with relevant parties to extend payments to all its employees working within the NHS, while Serco, which supports 18 hospitals, said it has paid staff “where appropriate funding has been provided.”
Other companies, such as Aramark UK, reported receiving no government funding to distribute bonuses. On the other hand, Essentia ensured all 1,675 of its employees at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust received the bonus because they are considered part of the trust’s workforce.
As of now, G4S, another major player in the sector, has declined to comment on the issue as reported by the Sky News.
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