The Scottish Government chose St Andrews Day to announce their intention to provide a one-off payment from their funding to all staff working within the NHS, frontline primary care, adult social care sector, hospice and palliative care & residential childcare in Scotland.
The PDA welcome this announcement and recognise that for many pharmacists this will be the first financial acknowledgement they have received since the pandemic turned their professional lives upside-down. Jeane Freeman MSP, the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Sport in the Scottish government described this bonus as “A small contribution to recognise the value of these frontline staff to us all.”
The Cabinet Secretary went on to point out that “We don’t have the power to make it tax-free but Boris Johnson does. Time to do the right thing Prime Minister.” Without being drawn into the party politics or relationships between Holyrood and Westminster, the PDA would welcome it if the UK government used their powers over the tax system to make such bonuses tax-free.
The Scottish government have already confirmed that this payment applies to those who were temporary or have since retired, with pro-rata payments for part-timers. This also includes those employed under independent contractor arrangements, however, we are currently unclear if this will include locums and have therefore written to the Cabinet Secretary for clarification.
We have raised with the Cabinet Secretary the valuable contribution of Locums and highlighted that while their contribution may have been spread across multiple pharmacies, overall many locums will certainly have made as much of a contribution to the system’s ability to respond to the pandemic, as those who are already definitely included in the scope of the payment. Locums are undertaking the same roles as employed colleagues and will often be working in pharmacies where a regular employed manager cannot be found.
Read the Scottish Government Announcement here.