Will the Minister share the rationale for not giving ancillary staff in care homes a £1000 bonus payment?
It is important to note that the Additional Payment scheme, which will make a before tax payment of £1,498 to specific social care workers, is for a different purpose to the two previous schemes we established in 2020 and 2021.
The previous schemes provided payments of £500 and £735 to a wider range of workers in the social care sector. The payments were to recognise the extraordinary commitment of staff during the worst periods of the Covid-19 pandemic. Ancillary staff in care homes rightly received both these payments.
This additional payment is different. It is specifically aligned to the introduction of the Real Living Wage for social care workers from April. Those eligible for the payment will be care workers and managers in care homes and domiciliary support services, and Personal Assistants.
The additional payment is to demonstrate our commitment to make further improvements in the terms and conditions of professional social care jobs and to develop an improved career structure. We will continue to work in partnership with the Social Care Fair Work Forum to bring about changes which will result in more people choosing long and rewarding careers as professionally registered social care workers.
Ancillary staff in care homes make a valuable and important contribution to residents’ wellbeing and have different responsibilities. They are not delivering personal care services, which requires registration with Social Care Wales, and they are not within the scope of the introduction of the Real Living Wage. For these reasons, ancillary staff are not in included in this particular initiative.