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Hundreds of support staff at Royal Derby Hospital say they have been left “struggling” after payment issues with the private company which is supposed to pay their wages. Trade union Unison claimed more than 650 support staff employed by ISS, working at Royal Derby Hospital, including porters, catering employees and cleaners, have had delayed wages due to issues with the private company.
Unison claimed ISS made incorrect pension deductions for two consecutive months, resulting in inaccurate payments. It is now calling for ISS to be stripped of its contract by the University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust after what it claims are repeated issues.
The trade union claimed there were “persistent” problems with pay, including inaccurate amounts being paid for bank holiday shifts and failure to add overtime into wage slips. A spokesperson said this had left staff “severely” out of pocket to the tune of nearly £300 and “struggling to meet basic living expenses such as housing, food, transportation and energy bills”.
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They said: “The company must fix the problems right away to ensure staff are not left in financial chaos and trust bosses should consider whether it would be better to end the contract and bring the valued workers back in-house.” A spokesperson for ISS UK&I: “We value the contribution of every ISS team member and will always act to address payroll issues with the utmost urgency.
“Immediate rectification payments were made to employees impacted by these errors in the calculation of pension deductions, and no employee suffered a pay shortfall.” A spokesperson for the University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust, which is responsible for Royal Derby Hospital, but not the support staff contracts, said: “While this error is the sole responsibility of ISS, the trust has accessible support in place which ISS staff can access alongside UHDB staff, including options for financial wellbeing support should they need it.
“We hugely value the support that ISS colleagues provide at our hospitals, and we escalated this with ISS to encourage them to find a swift resolution to support those who had been affected.”
James Olner, Unison East Midlands regional organiser, said: “Some of the lowest-paid staff at Derby Royal are still facing issues with receiving the correct pay from ISS. While the company has admitted liability, this offers little comfort to low-paid staff who are repeatedly being let down by their employer.
“It’s time for Derby and Burton Hospitals Trust to seriously reconsider whether ISS is fit to provide this service and whether these staff should be brought back in-house. Unison is supporting staff in their efforts to be paid fairly and on time.”
A hospital employee, working under ISS, who did not want to be named, said: “I’ve lost all faith in the company. You can’t mess around with people’s pay. Everyone has bills to pay and when I’ve worked hard for my wages, I expect them to be paid correctly at the end of each month.
”I’ve worked for the NHS for 26 years and never had a problem until now. I have my mortgage and bills that come out on the same day each month, so delays in the payments I am due have made me overdrawn.”
ISS has held the contract for support staff since the Royal Derby Hospital site opened in 2010. In 2019, hundreds of Royal Derby staff were also left waiting for pay following a change from weekly to fortnightly payments.
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