Council welcomes £500 payment for NHS and social care staff

Bridgend County Borough Council has welcomed news that Welsh Government will provide NHS and social care staff with bonus payments to mark their front-line contributions during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Each staff member will receive a one-off payment of £735 per person which, after tax and national insurance contributions have been accounted for, will provide them with a full bonus of £500.

Announcing the payment, Minister for Health and Social Services Vaughan Gething said: “Over the last year, Wales’ NHS 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.”

This bonus is going to benefit almost 222,000 people in Wales including more than 103,600 social care staff, 90,000 NHS Wales staff, 2,300 deployed students and 26,000 primary care staff.

It follows a £500 special payment for care home and domiciliary care workers which was announced last May in recognition of work carried out through the first wave of the pandemic, and is sure to be warmly welcomed by staff who have been at the forefront of the fight against the pandemic since day one.

Councils and trade unions are awaiting information on how the scheme will be delivered, so look out for more details soon.

Council Leader Huw David