No date yet for Wales’s £500 NHS staff bonus
THE Welsh Government has confirmed it is unable to tell NHS and social care staff in Wales when their £500 bonus payment will arrive in their pay packet.
On Wednesday, March 17 it was announced that all health and care workers will be given a one-off extra payment to recognise their “extraordinary contribution” during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The cash boost is equivalent to £735 per person to cover the basic rate of tax and national insurance contributions incurred. After deductions most people will receive £500.
It is estimated the payment will benefit 221,945 people in Wales including 103,600 social care staff, 90,000 NHS Wales staff, 2,345 deployed students and 26,000 primary care staff including workers in pharmacy, general practice, dental and optometry.
But on Thursday a spokesperson for the Welsh Government said there is “no fixed date” for the payment and that it will be made “as soon as possible over the coming months”.
While the payment has been welcomed by health and care unions, they claim it cannot replace a substantive pay rise for NHS Wales staff which is long overdue.
The UK Government’s recommendation of a 1% increase for employees in England was met with great derision earlier this month.
Helen Whyley, director of the Royal College of Nursing in Wales, is calling for a 12.5% pay rise for nurses to reflect the grow- ing complexity of their skills and workload.
She said: “The Welsh Government announced on March 17 that NHS and social care staff will receive a one-off bonus for their work during the pandemic. Most people will receive £500 after tax and national insurance deductions.
“This is not the significant and substantive pay rise we have been calling for. We need the Welsh Government to give a firm commitment to fair pay for nursing, addressing over 1,600 vacancies in Wales, encouraging nurses to stay in the pro
fession, and ensuring excellent patient care.”
She added: “Nurses need a pay rise. They deserve to be appropriately ‘‘ rewarded for their skills and expertise with pay that reflects the importance of their complex work.
“The next Welsh Government must get serious about valuing and supporting the profession in the short and long term.
“Without a significant and substantive pay rise, experienced nurses will continue to leave and the profession will be less attractive to the next generation.”
BMA Cymru Wales chairman Dr David Bailey said in March: “We welcome this gesture as an acknowledgement of the hard work and dedication demonstrated by doctors and other NHS workers in Wales who have been stretched to the very limits during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“We are pleased to see their tireless commitment has been recognised.”
This is not the significant and substantive pay rise we have been calling for. We need the Welsh Government to give a firm commitment to fair pay for nursing, addressing over 1,600 vacancies in Wales, encouraging nurses to stay in the profession, and ensuring excellent patient care
- Helen Whyley, director of the Royal
College of Nursing in Wales