Nottinghamshire: Hospital staff set to strike over Covid bonus snub

Staff at King's Mill Hospital and two other sites will join the strike

More than 200 staff at three Nottinghamshire hospitals are set to go on strike.

Medirest employees at King's Mill, Mansfield Community and Newark Hospital will walk out for 24 hours on 17 May.

The GMB union said employees at the private provider had been denied a Covid recovery bonus given to NHS colleagues.

Medirest said the eligibility criteria for the bonus payment was controlled by the government.

The firm runs facilities and services across Nottinghamshire's Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Trust.

The union confirmed the action on Thursday and warned it could cause disruption for patients.

It said the breaking point came when NHS employees received a Covid recovery bonus payment but staff employed by Medirest did not.

'Disappointing' decision

GMB organiser Cameron Mitchell said: "Medirest workers are being treated like second-class staff compared to workers employed directly by the NHS.

"Just like their colleagues on NHS contracts, they worked through Covid, delivering key services to patents yet they are yet to be paid the Covid recovery bonus they were promised."

A Medirest spokesperson said the eligibility criteria for the bonus payment was the responsibility of the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC).

They said: "While we are pleased that some of our employees have been identified as eligible and are due to receive the bonus payment imminently, we recognise it is disappointing for those who do not meet the government's eligibility criteria.

"All our employees received a separate pay uplift last year and have access to range of employee benefits. We are disappointed with GMB's decision to proceed with industrial action.

"If it goes ahead, in partnership with the trust, we have put in place contingency measures to limit any disruption to services for patients."

Chris Dann, deputy chief operating officer at Sherwood Forest Hospitals, said: "We are working with Medirest to minimise the disruption to our teams at Sherwood Forest Hospitals and to ensure there is no compromise to patient safety."