French hospital staff are to receive bonuses of up to 1,500 euros (£1,300) as part of the government’s “urgent economic plan” in response to the coronavirus crisis, repoirts The Guardian.
Frontline doctors, nurses and auxiliary staff battling to treat patients during the pandemic will be awarded tax-free sums of between 500 euros and 1,500 euros.
The higher sum will be given to hospital workers dealing directly with Covid-19 patients. Those in less affected areas will receive the lower bonus.
Public hospital staff will also be paid time and a half on overtime hours for the duration of the health crisis. Like the bonus, this will be free of tax and national insurance charges.
“The crisis demands responses that are of the measure of the shock we are enduring,” the prime minister, Édouard Philippe, said announcing the emergency measures after a meeting of the French cabinet on Wednesday.
“We are standing up to the coronavirus epidemic, firstly thanks to the incredible dedication of all the country’s healthcare personnel,” he said.
He announced an injection of 8 billion euros into the health system, 4 billion euros of which would be spent on “equipment and masks” and the rest on financial support for personnel who he said were “on the frontline, day and night”.