NHS and social care staff in Wales to receive £735 bonus payments

By Adam Hale, Reporter17th March 2021News WalesNews Wales, NHS, Pay and Conditions, Social Care, Workforce

NHS and social care staff in Wales will receive a £735 bonus payment to recognise their efforts during the coronavirus pandemic, health minister Vaughan Gething has said.

The one-off payment – which will see most workers take home £500 after tax and national insurance deductions – is estimated to benefit almost 222,000 people.

Staff working for NHS Wales, in primary and social care, and students deployed to help professionals are all in line for the bonus which will be funded by the Welsh Government.

Announcing the payment on Wednesday, Mr Gething (pictured) said: “Over the last year, Wales’s NHS staff and social care staff have shown a remarkable amount of commitment and courage from the initial outbreak of the pandemic right through to the current second wave.

“They will have suffered the impacts of the pandemic on their physical and mental health wellbeing in both their personal and professional lives.

“This payment expresses our gratitude to our NHS and social care workforce for their extraordinary contribution in keeping Wales safe.”

The Welsh Government said it is working with local authorities and trade unions to finalise details of the scheme.

A £500 special payment for care home and domiciliary care workers was announced last May, with the latest bonus being made available to a wider group of social care workers including local authority social services staff.

Earlier this month Mr Gething said the Welsh Government had not tried to set a “ceiling” on any pay rise for NHS staff in Wales, saying he understood why staff in England were “hurt and upset” at a 1% increase proposed by the UK Government.

He said ministers in Wales were waiting to see the recommendation of the NHS Pay Review Body, which advises on the pay of NHS staff.

The Welsh Government has provided evidence to the panel, which will be made public.

Paul Summers, Unison Cymru Wales lead officer for health, said: “This is a really timely boost for worn-out, low-paid NHS and care staff.

“The Welsh Government’s actions are in stark contrast to the insulting approach of the Conservative UK Government to NHS and care staff and we thank the health and social services minister for working with Unison and the other trade unions.”