Northamptonshire care worker bonus: £600 loyalty payment offered to 'keep going' through pandemic
Northamptonshire care workers will be offered a £600 bonus to thank them for their loyalty, as bosses hope the cash could lure more workers into the profession.
The one-off payment is being offered to recognise their efforts so far during the pandemic and their continuing efforts over the coming winter months.
The money is being put on the table amid a nationwide care worker shortage, which has sharpened deeply during the Covid crisis.
The care industry has blamed factors including an exodus of staff following Brexit as it launches an urgent recruitment drive.
Meanwhile, calls have been growing to raise care worker pay to stop them quitting for better-paid jobs elsewhere.
The sector has also claimed staff numbers were dealt a fresh blow when new rules that required all care home staff to be vaccinated against Covid came in last month.
The £600 bonus is coming from both the West and North Northamptonshire Councils, which have worked together with the Northamptonshire Clinical Commissioning Group Chief Executive to merge available funding for staff.
Bosses hope the extra payment will act as an incentive for care workers to keep going and remain in their jobs in CQC regulated settings over the winter, and for new starters to join the caring profession.
Council and health leaders say the payment recognises the vital role of carers in helping to keep people at home or to look after them in care homes as well as supporting those returning after hospital stays.
Bosses hope the extra payment will act as an incentive for care workers to keep going and remain in their jobs in CQC regulated settings over the winter, and for new starters to join the caring profession.
More than 12,075 staff are employed by over 400 independent care and support providers providing care and support to vulnerable individuals in the community and residential settings in the county.
The funding will cost approximately £7.245million.
The money is coming from the combined West and North Northamptonshire Council's COVID-19 Contain Outbreak Management Fund, and from the government's Social Care Workforce Retention Fund.
The payment will be made on March 31, 2022 to existing staff and to new starters.
Cllr Jonathan Nunn, Leader of West Northamptonshire Council said: "At the moment, there is an emerging shortage of home care staff across the county, and we are doing everything within our powers to address this. We acknowledge, and know only too well, that the care staff workforce is overworked, underpaid, and exhausted at a time when the demand for adult social care in the county has risen so sharply.
"We hope that by pooling funds together across health and social care and paying a loyalty bonus to care staff this winter, we are showing that all partners appreciate the dedication that they have shown in looking after vulnerable people across Northamptonshire. We also hope the offer will help to attract new staff to the profession."
Cllr Jason Smithers, Leader of North Northamptonshire Council, said: "The care sector does a remarkable job in looking after our most vulnerable but the past two years, with rising demand and the challenges of the pandemic, has shown that they are absolutely invaluable to our communities.
Chief Executive Northamptonshire's Clinical Commissioning Group, Toby Sanders, said: "This one-off bonus scheme is designed to urgently help retain and recruit dedicated care staff through the many challenges of the winter ahead."
"We hope it goes some way in showing the NHS appreciation of the work carers do and will ensure the provision of high quality care to residents and reduce pressure on other parts of our health and social care system."