In the pandemic, nursing staff are often confronted with particularly onerous tasks for a long time – the federal government now wants to recognize this with a one-off payment. Critics think that’s not enough.
Nursing staff in clinics and nursing homes should receive a graduated nursing bonus of up to around 2500 euros for their work during the corona pandemic.
The federal cabinet passed a corresponding draft law by Federal Minister of Health Karl Lauterbach (SPD) in Berlin on Wednesday. The federal government wants to provide a total of one billion euros for this – half for sick and half for geriatric nurses. More than 1.5 million employees should receive a bonus, as Lauterbach said.
Hospitals that treated a particularly large number of corona patients who had to be ventilated last year are to receive 500 million euros to pay out the bonus. According to the ministry, these are 837 clinics in Germany. They should distribute the money to the nurses in stages. They must have been employed in the clinic for at least three months.
According to preliminary calculations, Lauterbach said that specialist nurses in intensive care would receive at least 2,500 euros, specialist nurses 1,700 euros and long-term care workers around 550 euros.
The bonus for geriatric nurses who worked in a home for at least three months between November 2020 and the end of June 2022 is to be financed with a further 500 million euros. According to the draft law, full-time employees in direct care and support should receive the highest bonus of up to 550 euros among geriatric nurses. Employees who spend at least 25 percent of their working hours looking after or caring are to receive up to 370 euros.
Amount for clinic employees is still being calculated
For the clinic nurses, the exact amount of the payments is yet to be calculated. The draft law provides that the institute for the remuneration system in hospitals obtains the respective numbers of the nursing staff in question from the clinics and calculates the amount based on the millions available. The premium for intensive care professionals should be 1.5 times higher than for nurses on wards with beds.
Lauterbach rated the bonus as a thank you for the “special commitment” of the nursing staff in the pandemic. “Even in times of tight budgets, this is an important sign,” says Lauterbach. At the same time, he promised that the federal government would not leave it at the bonus, but would work for significantly better working conditions and pay for nursing staff. Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) had already made a corresponding statement.
According to the draft law, trainees, those doing voluntary service, helpers in the voluntary social year and temporary workers should also receive a bonus. The law is scheduled to come into force at the end of June, but the Bundestag still has to approve it.
The German Foundation for Patient Protection criticized the care bonus as insufficient. “There is little to be seen of the federal government’s appreciation here,” said board member Eugen Brysch of the German Press Agency. Committed employees who cared for cancer, stroke or heart attack patients, for example, were left out. “With this care bonus concept, the Federal Minister of Health is poisoning the mood among the millions of employees.” The federal association Lebenshilfe criticized the fact that employees in the handicapped aid “again should not receive any financial recognition”.
Source: Stern
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