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The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has announced that NHS employers in England are to be measured against staff standards to address problems including workplace racism, violence and sexual harassment.
Employers will be “formally accountable for how they treat their workforce” on six issues, which also include flexible working, line management and health and wellbeing.
The standards, developed by the DHSC with NHS England, trade unions and staff representatives, apply to secondary care and were published on 6 July 2026.
In a statement published alongside the standards, the government and NHS England said that NHS staff have reported “unacceptable levels of racism and violence against them, including sexual violence”, noting that a recent survey showed that 14.47% of staff had experienced violence at work from patients, their relatives or other members of the public.
The standards come as part of a commitment set out in the ten-year health plan for England, which was published in July 2025.
In August 2024, The Pharmaceutical Journal’s 2024 salary and job satisfaction survey revealed that 8% of 397 hospital pharmacists said they had taken time off work owing to stress in the past year.
In their responses, the hospital pharmacists spoke of “terrible senior leadership”, “workplace politics”, “micro-aggressions”, and “bullying, harassment and racism by pharmacy senior leadership”.
Habib Naqvi, chief executive of the NHS Race and Health Observatory, said: “Implementing national minimum standards for how healthcare organisations prevent, respond to, and learn from incidents of racism is an essential step forward.
“The standard must now be backed by systemic action, evidence-based interventions and leadership accountability. Our ‘Seven principles of antiracism for the NHS workforce’ will help to create equitable, inclusive workplaces — we stand ready to support organisations as they embed these standards.”
Mahendra Patel, chair of the Royal College of Pharmacy’s English National Pharmacy Advisory Council, said: “We welcome the introduction of NHS Staff Standards and the greater accountability they bring for creating safe, inclusive and supportive workplaces.
“Our workforce wellbeing surveys have consistently highlighted the impact workplace pressures have on pharmacy professionals. Everyone should be able to carry out their professional practice and everyday duties in an environment where they feel safe, respected and supported.
“Staff also need access to protected learning time to enable them to develop their skills and continue to provide high quality care for patients.
“These standards are an important step forward, but lasting change will depend on strong and meaningful leadership, consistent implementation and creating workplace cultures where staff feel valued and confident about raising concerns,” he added.
