EVERY full time NHS staff member and adult social care worker in Scotland is to receive a one-off £500 "thank you payment" for their work during the coronavirus pandemic. 

Details of the bonus were announced by Nicola Sturgeon at the SNP’s annual conference on Monday.

READ MORE: Scottish NHS and adult social care workers to get £500 Covid 'thank you payment'

The Scottish Government have now released more details of who will be eligible and how the payment will be processed. 

The pro rata £500 bonus scheme, which will be funded from the Scottish Government's COVID-19 support package, applies to employees employed since March 17.

It will be available to all NHS Employees, including: 

  • Staff who have been active in the NHS since 17 March 2020 but who have since left NHS employment, including retirees;
  • Staff who accepted and worked on temporary contracts since 17 March to aid pandemic response but who have since left NHS employment, including students who worked under temporary contracts but who have since returned to University;
  • Staff covered by the Two Tier Agreement
  • General Practitioners and their practice teams, including 2C practices.

Staff providing NHS services under independent contractor arrangements will also be eligible, including:

  • GP surgery staff;
  • NHS Dental surgery staff;
  • NHS pharmacy services staff;
  • NHS optometry staff.

Staff working in Adult Social Care including:

Care home staff;

  • Homecare staff;
  • Palliative care/hospice staff;
  • Adult Personal Assistants;
  • Social care staff in residential child care settings;
  • Social Workers (including those working with children and families and in criminal justice)

However, while the Scottish Government can make the payment, they don’t have powers over taxes to make it tax free. 

The First Minister has urged the Prime Minister to act.

Sturgeon said the money would be paid in this financial year and it would be separate from any negotiations about pay for the longer term.

The First Minister said: “Back in the spring, at the height of the first wave of COVID, many of us publicly  – and often loudly – showed our appreciation for the work our NHS and social care staff were doing.

“The applause was important, but it was never enough. Our appreciation must be shown in a more tangible way.

“We’re in the early stages of negotiating a new pay deal for NHS Agenda for Change staff for 2021/22. The UK Government's public sector pay policy will not make that task easy, but we will do our level best to give NHS staff the pay increase they deserve. However, these negotiations will take time to conclude.

“Those who have worked in our hospitals and care homes - at the sharpest end of the Covid trauma - deserve recognition now.

“So I can announce today that, on behalf of us all, the Scottish Government will give every full time NHS and social care worker £500 as a one-off thank you payment for their extraordinary service in this toughest of years. Those who work part time will get a proportionate share.

“The money will be paid in this financial year and it will be separate from any negotiations about pay for the longer term. There are no strings attached.

“Of course, a payment like this can never come close to expressing our full admiration for those who have cared for us so heroically. But to our health and care workers, it is a demonstration of what we collectively owe you - and a heartfelt thank you for the sacrifices you have made.”