Some people will get up to £3,000 after a pay rise agreement (Credits: Getty Images)
Almost 30,000 workers in England are expected to receive one-off payments of up to £3,000 as a boost for frontline healthcare staff.
The top-up is set to appear on the bank accounts of more than 27,000 healthcare workers across England.
Community nurses, physiotherapists and cleaners who do NHS work but are not employed by the organisation are in line for the April pay packet.
They are expected to get at least £1,655 and a 5% pay rise – just like NHS workers do.
The announcement comes after a campaign fighting to get the pay award already given to NHS staff in England last year.
Nurses, paramedics and 999 call handlers were among the NHS staff who received the money as a ‘boost for the workforce’, the government said.
Now organisations providing frontline care will receive funding from the government to make the payments to staff over the coming months.
Health Secretary Victoria Atkins said the pay extensions was made to ensure that ‘hardworking staff and the organisations they work for can fully benefit from the NHS pay deal.’
She said: ‘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.
What is the NHS pay deal?
Last year, the government announced a 5% pay rise and two one-off payments to more than a million NHS staff.
It came after pressure from the unions who were ready to stage mass walkouts if no agreement was reached.
Those on the Agenda for Change contract agreed with the unions were promised the boost, but staff not directly employed by the NHS were left out.
They are often healthcare staff working for not-for-profit community groups in the third sector who provide many key services locally.
At first, the government asked organisations to prove they were negatively hit by the pay deal and that their staff were on the Agenda for Change contracts to get the money.
But Social Enterprise UK, an employers’ organisation, told BBC News it was concerned over the delays while some workers were left ‘completely demoralised’ when they heard they would not get extra pay.
However, staff who do NHS work but are not on Agenda for Change contracts will not see a penny more.
Other workers left out of the deal includes ‘bank staff’ who provide temporary cover for hospitals to fill gaps in their rota, BBC reports.
The Royal College of Nursing – representing 35,000 workers – said it was campaigning for its members at GP practices.
An estimated salary for a community physiotherapist in London can range from £26,000 to £40,000 per year, according to Glassdoor.
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