Essential Worker From Kill Told He Now Won't Be Paid The Pandemic Bonus Payment

John Bracken was initially told he would receive the bonus.

An essential worker from Kill has been told he won't be paid the pandemic bonus, having initially been told he would receive it.

John Bracken worked transporting covid tests and results to and from hospitals and nursing homes throughout the pandemic.

Mr Bracken is a Section 39 worker, which means he is not employed directly by the Health Service Executive.

"I worked above and beyond, sometimes it was half eight before I went home.

"My work colleagues [in the day centre] went to all the members homes, did their shopping, picked up their medication, dropped meals.

"Some of us brought people from the Day Centre to get their vaccinations," he said.

John and his colleagues are now being told that they are not eligible for the payment.

The HSE states that 'The ‘Pandemic Special Recognition Payment’ (PSRP) results from the Government decision (19th January 2022) to provide specific financial recognition to eligible frontline health care workers based on the particular additional risks they faced in performance of duty during the pandemic.

This PSRP is for employees from non-HSE and non-Section 38 organisations who, between 1 March 2020 and 30 June 2021, worked in a frontline covid-exposed clinical environment - settings where staff unavoidably had to treat, care for or be in close contact with those who were known to have Covid-19 or Covid symptoms.

This process (and Guidelines) is specific to eligible employees of the following non-HSE and non-Section 38 organisations:

(1)           Private Sector long-term residential care facilities for older people (nursing homes) and hospices, whether they be Private, Voluntary, Section 39

(2)           Eligible staff working on-site in Section 39 long-term residential care facilities for people with disabilities;

(3)           Agency/contract staff who worked in clinical settings for the HSE or within Cohorts 1, 2 and 4 (e.g. an nurse, doctor, cleaner, paramedic);

(4)           Health Care Support Assistants (also known as home help / home care / home support) contracted to the HSE.

In order to be eligible, employees must also meet the two qualifying criteria below:

• The employee must have worked for at least 4 weeks between 1st March 2020 and 30th June 2021 – this does not have to be a continuous 4 week period
• This work must have been in a frontline covid-exposed clinical environment, and which warranted the employee’s inclusion in Sequence Group 1 or 2 for the Vaccination Programme

As of 18 April 2023, a total of €56.3 million has been paid to 61,394 employees across the above cohorts and relates to approved payments to 657 employer organisations.

‘For a non-HSE/Non-Section 38 worker, not working in the HSE,  to qualify for the PSRP that worker would have to fall into cohorts 1, 2 or 4 above.’

John Bracken is confident that he meets the criteria for the payment, but claims the "goal posts have been moved."

Mr. Bracken joined Eoin Beatty on Thursday morning's Kildare Today, listen back here: