ScotGov - Who Gets What and Why? (2)
The Scottish Government's scheme to pay a £500 bonus to all NHS workers and social care staff has attracted a lot of criticism which is richly deserved, if you ask me.
So I thought I'd highlight some of the issues with the scheme which could (and should) have been addressed had Nicola Sturgeon put a serious proposal to the Scottish Parliament, instead of playing party politics by making an announcement to an SNP conference.
Senior Officials
1) The chief executive of NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde is very well paid with a salary package worth over £200,000 a year including pension benefits.
Why does the First Minister think it necessary to reward such senior and highly paid officials with a £500 bonus payment?
More thoughts and observations to follow in the days ahead - so watch this space.
ScotGov - Who Gets What and Why? (07/12/20)
I am beginning to delve into this £500 bonus business which Nicola Sturgeon announced to an SNP conference recently without any prior discussion in the Scottish Parliament or with other relevant 'stakeholders' including the employers and trade unions.
Now I understand that this £500 payment is intended to cover 300,000 staff and will cost around £180 million which sounds rather odd because lots of staff are part-time and won't qualify for the full £500.
According to media reports, part-time staff will receive a 'pro rata' payment presumably be based on a percentage of full-time hours worked - and there are lots of part-time staff working in the health and social care field, as everyone knows.
By my calculation 300,000 X £500 = £150 million and after factoring in the lower amounts paid to part-time staff you would expect the bill to come to significantly less than £150 million - even allowing for employers' National Insurance contribution of 13.8%.
So how does the Scottish Government come to a total of £180 million?
I don't know, but I think we should be told and there must surely be an official ScotGov circular doing the rounds since this kind of information has to be circulated to employers (NHS and council) and the trade unions.
If any readers out there can oblige, please send a copy of the circular (in confidence of course) to: markirvine@compuserve.com
Scots Docs Say - "No Thanks!" (05/12/20)
Scottish doctors show more sense than ScotGov ministers after branding their £500 'thank you' payment as embarrassing and unnecessary.
The Herald reports that Highland GPs asked whether the move was 'just' when many of their patients have faced reduced earnings, jobs losses or business closures as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic.Fairness, Covid and Taxing Bonuses (01/12/20)
"But exempting any bonuses from tax is not widely regarded as a good use of tax policy – regardless of which govt has the powers to do it, and regardless how much we appreciate the work done by NHS/social care workers in recent months.
"There’s a reason bonuses are taxed; if they weren’t, everyone would want paid in bonuses rather than regular pay. Making an exception to the rule once opens the possibility of endless future lobbying for tax-exempt bonuses – which is not something any government should be keen to encourage.
"More importantly, exempting bonuses from tax appears at odds with the context of the existing progressive tax system. If NHS workers received an extra £500 in normal pay, higher rate taxpayers would pay more of that in tax than basic rate taxpayers – that’s the basis of fairness on which the system is based. Exempting the bonus from tax would gift higher rate taxpayers a significantly larger tax break than basic rate taxpayers. It is really not clear what the rationale for this would be.
"So, it is perfectly legitimate – and indeed desirable – to want to recognise and reward NHS/care workers for their efforts in recent months. But if policymakers want those employees to benefit by £500 after tax, the solution is to pay a higher gross bonus. There is little reason for these rewards to be exempt from the existing social contract, or for them to require administrative and legislative hurdles to implement."
