Social care Personal Assistants to receive £500

A new online application portal has launched to enable special recognition payments to be made to social care Personal Assistants who worked during the pandemic.

Launching the online portal which will enable eligible Personal Assistants across Northern Ireland to receive the special recognition payment, Minister Swann said: “I first developed the scheme to help acknowledge and thank our health and social care workforce for their immeasurable and vital contribution throughout the pandemic.

“I am pleased to launch this phase of the scheme today which will enable Personal Assistants to receive the payment. Personal Assistants are a vital part of our health and social care workforce and they have our utmost gratitude.

“We have developed the online platform so that the process can be as simple, straightforward and as speedily delivered  as possible for applicants.”

The online portal is the easiest and most efficient way for Personal Assistants to receive the payment. A paper based application form is also available for those who prefer and a dedicated helpline is also in place to support applicants.

The Personal Assistant workforce are employed directly by disabled people, for whom they provide vital support to enable them to live independently. To be eligible, applicants must have been employed as a Personal Assistant for a continuous 4 week period between 17 March 2020 and 31 January 2021.

As with recognition payments to other health and social care workers, Personal Assistants will receive a pro rata payment of up to a maximum of £500, depending on the number of hours they work in an average week.

Concluding Minister Swann said: “I want to once again put on record my sincere appreciation for the Personal Assistant workforce and I thank them for their significant contribution during the pandemic.”

A further phase of the special recognition payments scheme will be available soon for groups not covered in earlier rounds, including:

• Individuals employed in the Independent Sector (Care Homes, Domiciliary Care and Supported Living Schemes) who have moved employers, or left the sector, between 17 March 2020 and 31st January 2021; and;
• Employees of a number of outlier organisations that were inadvertently not included from the initial Phase I criteria, specifically HSC commissioned services not regulated by the RQIA.

Notes to editors: 

1.  Those eligible to receive the recognition payment must have been employed for a continuous 4 week period between 17 March 2020 and 31 January 2021 as a Personal Assistant. Eligible PAs will fall within one of the following categories:

• Personal Assistants employed by Independent Living Fund recipients in NI;
• Personal Assistants employed by the Thalidomide survivors in NI via the Thalidomide Health Grant;
• Personal Assistants employed via direct payments from Health and Social Care Trusts (HSCTs);
• Self-employed Personal Assistants.

2.  Personal Assistants can apply online: https://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/PA500NI/ 

3.  A dedicated helpline is also available from 10am – 12.30pm Monday to Friday. The helpline number is: 0800 170 13 50

4.  The online portal will close on 23 June 2022

5.  A full list of Frequently Asked Questions is available online: https://www.health-ni.gov.uk/publications/special-recognition-payments-social-care-personal-assistants

6.  For media enquiries please contact the DoH Press Office by email pressoffice@health-ni.gov.uk.

7.  Follow us on Twitter @healthdpt.

8.  The Executive Information Service operates an out of hours service For Media Enquiries Only between 1800hrs and 0800hrs Monday to Friday and at weekends and public holidays. The duty press officer can be contacted on 028 9037 8110.

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