UNION ANGER AS 60,000 CARE WORKERS WAIT FOR
About 60,000 care workers are still waiting to be paid a £500 coronavirus bonus promised by Nicola Sturgeon five months ago.
The First Minister unveiled the £180million “thank you” pledge at the SNP’s virtual party conference in November.
But while nurses, doctors and managers working directly for the NHS have been given the money, thousands of frontline employees in the private sector have yet to received a penny.
It has also emerged that part-time workers who receive universal credit could be left with as little as £80 because the extra income will be deducted from welfare payments.
Gary Smith, Scotland
Secretary of the GMB Union, said: “Tens of thousands of workers in our social care sector are still waiting to be ‘thanked’ by the Scottish Government.
“The £500 payment has never been about properly rewarding the social care workforce.
“From the outset it lacked planning and this has resulted in a five-month delay with workers still waiting. The payment will not only be vulnerable to tax but it’s also pro rata and no provisions have been put in place to mitigate the impact on those in receipt of benefits.
“The next time the First Minister wants to thank social care workers she should do it right by getting behind our members’ campaign for a proper wage rise of £15 an hour.”
A complicated application
system for a government fund has been blamed by employers for the delay to payments.
And in a letter to GMB member John Semple, the Scottish Government has now admitted people in receipt of benefits could have their payments slashed as a result of the bonus.
The letter states: “The
Department for Work and Pensions treat the bonuses as earnings when calculating Universal Credit.
“That could reduce the benefit payment by 63p for every £1 earned.
“This means that someone in receipt of Universal Credit who receives a share of the £500 pro-rata payment would see their Universal Credit go down by 63 per cent of the value of the payment after deductions.”
The letter suggested some of the payment could be protected by it being received in instalments.
And it adds: “Please be assured that the First Minister and all Scottish Ministers are hugely grateful for the hard work and dedication of all those working in NHS Scotland and the social care sector who have risen to the challenge of responding to the Covid-19 crisis.”
The Scottish Government insisted that the majority of social care workers would receive the £500 one-off pro rata thank you payment in April – including those working in the private sector.