A Unite reps update on the NHS Staff Standards
On 6 July 2026 the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and NHS England, working closely with employers and staff representatives through the Social Partnership Forum, published the NHS Staff Standards. These standards set out what staff can expect from their employer in a number of important areas.
At this event on 18 August 2026, lead professional officer Dave Munday provided a presentation based on the new standards. This included what each of the 6 standards are, what staff can expect, why this matters and how the standards will be measured. The Q&A session was not recorded but the topics covered are included below.
FAQs | NHS Staff Standards questions and answers from the Unite rep's session
Yes, Download a copy of the NHS Staff Standards presentation.
Yes, you can watch the presentation here::
Yes. You can access the NHS Staff Standards on the gpvernment website.
The standards apply to "secondary care, which includes acute, mental health, ambulance services and community healthcare".
It would be worth contacting your employer to highlight the new NHS Staff Standards and ask they how they feel they could be adopted in your employer. As was highlighted in the session, other organisations may use the NHS Staff Survey which is an important part of the staff standards. Results have both been used to highlight the problems that the standards hope to address and a way to judge implementation. It is likely that the results from organisations not covered by the standards will show similar issues that need to be addressed.
The NHS Staff Standards could be used by reps to address this issue and look at sensible solutions that can be implemented locally. For example, this could be a change to who line manages staff or a system where line managers are included in the appraisal process, either in the same or a different meeting. If this isn't addressed early on it would be hoped that it would be identified in the NHS Staff Survey and lead employers having to implement changes.
Different questions in the survey have different scoring systems. Each result includes a descriptor on what it means.
Yes, the Department for Health & Social Care have produced detailed requirements for employers which should be reviewed following this initial awareness session. You can access them online - DHSC requirements.