New payment scheme
A new special payment scheme, as announced by Vaughan Gething, Minister for Health and Social Services on the 17th March 2021, applying to all eligible NHS and social care staff in recognition of their effort during the Covid-19 pandemic is being introduced. The Local Authority is working closely with Welsh Government to finalise the details of this scheme including eligibility and its administration. Further details will be published here once we have final guidance and a formal process in place. It is anticipated that payments will be made in the financial year 2021/22. Should you have any queries please email us on specialpaymentscheme@conwy.gov.uk
Purpose of the Scheme
The Welsh Government Special Payment Scheme has been introduced to recognise and reward the hard work and commitment of social care staff who have provided essential care to our most vulnerable citizens during the most challenging period of the Covid-19 pandemic.
How to claim the special payment
Conwy County Borough Council is administering the Scheme on behalf of the Welsh Government in respect of eligible social care staff within the following settings:
- residential care homes
- domiciliary care agencies
- employment agencies
The Scheme is also extended to Personal Assistants employed by Direct Payment recipients which will be managed separately. For further information please email us: direct.payment@conwy.gov.uk.
How we will administer the special payment
We will aim to administer the payments for eligible staff in the Conwy area. However, if you work across a wider geographical area you may wish to submit your application through one Local Authority with mutual consent. Please notify us on the email below if you wish to request the payments to be processed through another Local Authority. In the event that your registered office is within Conwy, you may wish to submit your application for all your eligible staff to us. We will require you to confirm which Local Authority areas your staff are working in.
The special payment will be managed through a two stage process.
Stage 1 (see below): Care Providers / Employers claim the payment in respect of their eligible staff
Stage 2: Care Providers / Employers claim supplementary funding to cover the costs incurred as a direct result of the special payment.
For further information about the Scheme and who is eligible to receive the payment please read the guidance from Welsh Government , or email us on contractsteam@conwy.gov.uk
Care Providers / Employers can begin the application for the special payments scheme through the following links.
Stage 1 - Claim for eligible staff special payment
Before applying
The payment can only be claimed by Care Providers / Employers in respect of social care staff who meet the eligibility criteria. Before applying, Care Providers / Employers need to determine who is eligible to receive the payment in compliance with the Welsh Government, Social Care Workforce Special Payment Scheme Guidance.
In order to claim the special payment, Care Providers / Employers will need to provide an Employee Claim Form to all eligible staff. Eligible staff will be required to complete the Employee Claim Form which will be retained by Care Providers/Employers for audit trail purposes. Care Providers/Employers may be requested to provide a completed copy of the Employee Claim Form.
When will the scheme open
The scheme is open now and the deadline for submissions is 30th September 2020.
Applications will be dealt with on a first come first served basis and the payments are planned to be completed by the end of October 2020.
How to claim the payment on behalf of eligible staff
Care Providers / Employers are required to complete a separate list for eligible directly employed staff and / or agency staff.
There are two templates for each list (only one needs to be completed) for you to save and add details of your staff who are eligible for the payment. This will then need to be uploaded when you make your application. If you do not use Microsoft Excel, please use the ODS (Open Document Spreadsheet) format.
Please only submit your staff details in an Excel or ODS format or this may slow down your application.
Employee Claim Form
Directly employed staff template (Microsoft Excel version)
Directly-employed-staff-template (ODS version)
Agency staff template (Microsoft Excel version)
Agency-Staff-template (ODS version)
How payments will be made
Payments will be made to Care Providers / Employers subject to receipt of a completed list of eligible social care staff having obtained a complete and signed Employee Claim Form for each eligible staff which will be retained. There is no requirement to submit the signed Employee Claim Forms as part of this application.
What happens after the application is received
Receipt of the application will be acknowledged within 10 working days.
We aim to process the application within 30 days of receipt subject to the correct information provided and checks undertaken.
Important note: If any data is incomplete or incorrect, we will not process the application until further information is received.
If your application is approved
If the application is approved, a notification will be sent through the Council’s P2P facility.
If the application is unsuccessful in respect of any of the staff, an email outlining the reasons for rejection will be sent to the employer together with an appeal process.
Appeal
An appeal process is applicable in accordance with the WG Guidance where a claim has been rejected by the employer. A Reconsideration Request Form is to be completed if the special payment has been rejected by the employer and the worker wishes the Local Authority to reconsider this. Please submit the Reconsideration Request Form to the following email address: contractsteam@conwy.gov.uk for us to reconsider the claim as part of the stage 1 of the appeal process.
If the Local Authority continues to determine the worker as ineligible, a letter will be sent indicating the rationale for the decision. The Worker may wish to progress to the Stage 2 of the appeal process by completion and return of the Stage 2 Appeals Form.
Privacy statement
This privacy notice sets out how we intend to process personal data in order to complete the special payment process in Conwy.
By submitting your application you are agreeing to share your information with Conwy County Borough Council, Welsh Government and in cases of fraud the Police.