Security guards at the National Gallery in London have been banned from the staff break room since their jobs were handed over to an outside company, according to a staffing report obtained by The Guardian. The guards now take their breaks in a cramped, windowless basement with no air-conditioning.

The break room, known as the "hub," was built in spaces between and beneath the gallery's exhibition halls. It is still open to the gallery's own employees, from curators to marketing staff. It has a canteen with its own chef and subsidised meals. The basement given to the outsourced guards has a small kiosk selling little more than a KitKat, with no cooked food.

The National Gallery told security staff that the hub ban is about avoiding overcrowding. But guards are still barred during weekends and holidays, when almost no in-house employees are there. A senior curator at the gallery, speaking anonymously to The Guardian, said there are about 60 security guards on site each day, but only a few take their breaks at the same time. The curator described the guards as being treated like "second-class citizens."

The PCS union, which represents the guards, called the situation one of "absolute contempt." The union said the basement is unventilated and you can only get in by ducking under pipes. The union is also worried about safety. Security staff say they are being asked to watch as many as four rooms at once, which they fear puts the artwork at risk.

The safety concerns are real. Recent incidents at the gallery include activists throwing tomato soup over Van Gogh's "Sunflowers" and attacking Velázquez's "Rokeby Venus" with hammers. The gallery's own Annual Report and Accounts, published 15 July 2026, lists the cost of front-of-house and security staff under a goal described as "Broaden our appeal and provide an exceptional visitor experience."

On 1 July 2026, the PCS union wrote to the gallery's director. The union argued that pushing a largely black and Asian workforce into the basement, while mostly white in-house staff get fresh air, sunlight, and proper break facilities, was "potentially discriminatory under the Equality Act 2010" — the UK law that bans unfair treatment based on race, sex, age, and other characteristics. The union was still waiting for a reply as of The Guardian's report on 2 August 2026. Staff have compared the setup to "Upstairs, Downstairs," a TV drama about class divisions in Edwardian England.

The broader context here is one of ongoing tension at a gallery that has faced criticism for how it treats workers. According to Tribune magazine, the gallery's outsourcing and treatment of staff is pushing its Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic workers into poverty and unstable work. In a separate dispute, 27 former educators at the gallery are taking legal action, claiming they were unfairly dismissed and discriminated against based on length of service, age, and sex.

The gallery's own documents tell a different story. Its Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking Statement, covering the year from 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026, says all staff must pass security checks. Its Visitor Admissions Policy, published 27 April 2026, promises to acknowledge all feedback within five working days. After a 2017 incident involving a Gainsborough painting, the gallery praised its security team for acting "rapidly and professionally" and keeping people safe.

The question now is whether the union's discrimination claim forces the gallery's director to respond, and whether the gallery can keep publicly praising its security team while keeping those same workers out of the staff break room. The artwork the guards protect has never been more visibly at risk after several high-profile attacks. The staffing model meant to protect it has never been more visibly strained.