Around 250 cleaners, porters and catering workers at St Helier and Epsom hospitals are taking legal action against their NHS employer over four years of lost pay and pension contributions, their union has said. The workers, who are members of the union United Voices of the World (UVW), allege indirect race discrimination by the St George's, Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals and Health Group, known as GESH. The union says the group is predominantly Black, brown and migrant, and that its members were employed directly by the NHS but kept off the pay, pension and conditions enjoyed by colleagues on Agenda for Change contracts. The claims have not yet been decided. Two hearings are scheduled for 2027, and the workers' case will be tested there. ## What the workers are claiming According to [United Voices of the World](https://www.uvwunion.org.uk/en/news/2026/11/nhs-scandal-hundreds-of-gesh-workers-take-trust-to-court-over-pension-denial-and-inferior-pay/), the workers were brought in-house by GESH in 2021, after previously working for the contractor Mitie. Despite becoming NHS employees, the union says, they remained on inferior terms. The gap described by the union is stark. It says the workers were paid 13.85 pounds an hour, compared with 14.92 pounds for NHS Band 2 colleagues, and received employer pension contributions of just 3 percent, against around 23 percent for colleagues on Agenda for Change contracts. [Employee Benefits](https://www.employeebenefits.co.uk/pay-strategy/2026/11/05/epsom-and-st-helier-university-hospitals-nhs-trust-workers-take-legal-action-over-pay-and-pensions/) reports the same figures, and says the union's survey found that some of the group had been paid almost 10,000 pounds less a year. The workers are seeking to recover the pay and pension contributions they say they were wrongly denied over the four years, as well as compensation for the distress caused, described in legal terms as injury to feelings. Ioana Paduraru, a cleaning and portering supervisor at St Helier hospital and a UVW member, said it was not fair to ask workers to pay four years of their own pension contributions upfront. She said she was the only person working in her household, had four children, and believed she had lost more than 10,000 pounds. ## Four years on different terms The dispute has a long history. In 2025, after 98 percent of the workers voted in favour of strike action, they secured a collective agreement bringing them onto NHS terms and conditions, including NHS pay, sick pay from day one, pensions, annual leave and enhanced pay for night and weekend work. UVW says that in 2025 GESH acknowledged that denying the workers access to NHS pensions for four years had been unlawful, and agreed to enrol them in the NHS scheme and make back payments. The argument now is about how the workers' own missed contributions for those four years should be made up. The union says workers were asked to pay four years of their own contributions upfront, which it calls unacceptable. Its general secretary, Nelly Ospino, said the workers had already paid the price for years and should not be expected to pay again for what she described as GESH's unlawful decision. ## What the trust says The trust has given a different account of the pension arrangements. It told Employee Benefits that workers were given the option to join the NHS pension in January and could choose to make up their underpayments, which would not be a lump sum or upfront cost and would be matched with employer contributions. Workers can also choose to move their Nest pension over to the NHS pension. A spokesperson for Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust said it had agreed to pay the backdated employer contributions for colleagues who chose to join the NHS pension scheme. The spokesperson said porters, cleaners, catering and patient transport employees were hugely valued and respected, and added: "We're sorry we didn't get this right first time." ## What happens next The workers are being supported by law firm Leigh Day in their claim for lost pay, while UVW is bringing the pension claim. The back pay claim is scheduled to be heard on 7 July 2027, and the pension claim on 14 June 2027. Until then, the two sides disagree on what fair redress looks like. The workers say they want the pay and pension contributions they lost, without having to fund the shortfall themselves. The trust says it has agreed to pay backdated employer contributions and has offered a way for staff to make up their own contributions over time. The tribunal hearings next year will decide the claims.