Healthcare workers to get thousands in one-off government payment

The government is going to give funding for over 27,000 healthcare workers in England. They’ll be given two one-off payments which are worth at least £1,655 and up to £3,000.

Forming part of the wider NHS pay deal, one of the payments was specifically intended to recognise the sustained pressure facing the health service and the extraordinary effort staff have made to meet the Prime Minister’s promise to cut waiting lists.

Last year, more than one million NHS staff on the Agenda for Change contract,  which includes nurses, paramedics, 999 call handlers, midwives, security guards and cleaners – got two one-off payments alongside a 5% pay rise.

These payments originally only applied to those directly employed by NHS organisations, but now healthcare workers in non-NHS organisations.

Eligible organisations will be contacted by NHS England or the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and provided with the funding as quickly as possible.

Health and Social Care Secretary Victoria Atkins said: “I hugely value the hard work of all our healthcare staff, and those working in non-NHS organisations offer vital support to patients.

I want to ensure that eligible staff receive these payments, which is why we chose to deliver this funding and why we have taken the decision to relax the financial eligibility criteria employers must meet. 

It will ensure that hardworking staff and the organisations they work for can fully benefit from the NHS pay deal.

The payments will be provided to organisations which deliver NHS and public health grant services who employ their staff on dynamically linked Agenda for Change contracts.”

 Who will get the payments?

• Community nurses
• Sexual health workers
• Speech and language therapists
• Physiotherapists
• other crucial frontline workers