Coronavirus: Thousands of health workers waiting for £500 payment

Many staff in care homes, domiciliary care and private hospitals are still waiting for their £500 payment

Thousands of health and social care staff in Northern Ireland are still waiting to receive a £500 payment for their work during the pandemic.

The "special recognition" payment was announced by Health Minister Robin Swann in January.

Payments to workers in the statutory sector, such as health and social care trusts, began in July.

However, people who work in care homes, domiciliary care and private hospitals are still waiting for theirs.

Staff working in pharmacies, dental practices and opticians are also eligible for the payment.

They must have worked at least one month's continuous service between 17 March 2020 and 31 January 2021

Speaking in the Northern Ireland Assembly, Mr Swann said payments to staff in the independent sector had proven to be "complex and challenging" as there is a larger number of employers and workers are more transient.

Robin Swann said the special recognition payment to independent sector staff will be made "as soon as possible"

'Knock-on effect to benefits'

"Developing a set of standardised eligibility criteria has proven to be more challenging than initially thought," he said.

"Likewise, the development of a payment mechanism, particularly in circumstances where an employee has moved between providers or has moved out of the sector completely, has proven problematic."

He said this work was now "almost completed".

Officials had met major care home and domiciliary care providers and voluntary sector providers to ensure payment mechanisms are "workable, deliverable, accountable, and auditable", the minister said.

Additional time had been needed to increase the payment to take account of basic rate tax and national insurance so that staff receive the £500.

He said officials had also worked to minimise the knock-on effect to benefits for what was largely a low-paid female workforce.

The minister said that the special recognition payment to independent sector staff will be made "as soon as possible".