NHS employers will be formally accountable for how they treat their workforce on key issues for the first time under landmark NHS staff standards that will measure performance on tackling racism, violence and improving sexual safety measured in public league tables.
The NHS has a zero-tolerance policy towards racism and violence against staff or patients. Nevertheless, in the most recent NHS Staff Survey, workers reported unacceptable levels of racism and violence against them, including sexual violence.
For the second consecutive year, there was an increase in the percentage of staff who had personally experienced violence at work from patients, their relatives or other members of the public (14.47%).
Hardworking NHS staff must be treated with the respect they deserve, and this is the first time in the history of the health service that employers have faced formal, mandated accountability for staff experience in these areas.
Last month, the government also accepted Lord Mann’s recommendations for tackling antisemitism and discrimination in the NHS, which included measures to enhance accountability for senior leaders.
Scope of the standards
The new standards, developed in partnership with NHS England, NHS trade unions and staff representatives through the Social Partnership Forum, cover six main areas:
• Violence prevention and reduction
• Championing sexual safety
• Tackling racism
• Promoting flexible working
• Line management
• Health and wellbeing support.
Minister for Secondary Care, Karin Smyth, says: “NHS staff are the backbone of our health service, and they deserve to be treated with dignity and respect. The levels of racism, violence and sexual harassment reported by staff are completely unacceptable, and for too long there has been no formal accountability for employers to address them.
“These new standards – a 10 Year Health Plan commitment – change that. For the first time, how Trusts treat their employees will be measured and published, because we know that when staff are supported, patients get better care. This government is determined to make the NHS the best employer it can be, and these standards are a landmark step in delivering on that promise.”
How it will work
From July 2026, NHS Trusts in secondary care – including acute hospitals, mental health services and ambulance Trusts – will be required to meet the standards, which will be assessed through a headline metric in the NHS Oversight Framework (NOF). This means how well a Trust supports its staff in key areas – assessed through the annual staff survey – will directly affect its overall performance rating alongside waiting list and A&E metrics. Employers’ actions like implementing robust violence prevention and acting when concerns are raised are likely to help with staff survey findings and their NOF scores.
The standards set a clear baseline of what NHS staff can expect from their employer, regardless of where they work. Future years will see the standards refined to drive continuous improvement, with plans to look at how to extend the framework to primary care, including GPs, dentists and other service types.
Improving staff experience is central to the government’s mission to build an NHS fit for the future, and the forthcoming 10 year workforce plan will set out further measures to achieve this.
Better working conditions are expected to:
• Support the recruitment and retention of staff
• Reduce sickness absence
• Improve productivity
• Deliver better outcomes for patients.
Helga Pile and Ben Morrin, co-chairs of the national Social Partnership Forum, have welcomed the introduction of the new standards. They add: “The government will need to ensure the new NHS system can provide the right oversight, support and challenge. Effective partnership working between employers and trade unions on implementing the standards, should then mean they result in a lasting and improved experience at work for NHS staff.”
