Nurses in England will not receive a one-off bonus for their efforts during the coronavirus pandemic like their colleagues in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have done, the government has confirmed. 

The Department of Health and Social care (DHSC) has responded to a petition signed by thousands of people calling for a £500 “thank you” bonus for all health and social care in England by stating it has “no current plan” to provide such payment. 

This makes England the only country in the UK to not have offered its nurses a Covid-19 bonus.

ffThe Royal College of Nursing said this latest move from the government showed “they truly do not value our hard-working nursing staff”. 

It comes amid continued backlash over the government's proposal that NHS staff in England should receive just a 1% pay increase for 2021-22.

The NHS Pay Review Body is currently examining evidence from all key stakeholders before it makes a recommendation in May. The government is then expected to put forward its pay offer in the summer. 

In its response to the petition, which was signed by more than 14,000 people, the DHSC said:“While the pay review bodies are taking evidence and preparing the report, we do not want to set out a pre-emptive policy on pay.

“However, we have no current plan to provide NHS staff with a £500 bonus nor do we have a plan to do so for social care.”

It claimed that the fact a pay rise was being offered despite a wider public sector pay freeze for 2021-22 was an acknowledgement of the “extraordinary service of NHS staff through the pandemic”.

Responding to the news, RCN acting general secretary Pat Cullen said: “The public overwhelming[ly] wants to see health and care staff fairly paid, rewarded and respected.

“Yet again the government’s shown that, behind the rhetoric, they truly do not value our hard-working nursing staff.

Article courtesy of nursingtimes.net