EVERY NHS staff member and adult social care worker in Scotland will receive a one-off £500 "thank you payment" for their work during the coronavirus pandemic. 

Details of the bonus - which will be received by around 390,000 people - were announced by Nicola Sturgeon at the SNP’s annual conference.

However, while the Scottish Government can make the payment, they don’t have powers over taxes to make it tax free. 

READ MORE: IN FULL: Nicola Sturgeon's speech to SNP conference

In her speech, the First Minister urged the Prime Minister to act. 

“Please allow our health and care heroes to keep every penny of Scotland’s thank you to them,” she said,

“Do not take any of it away in tax.”

The thank you payment will also be available to part time workers, and paid proportionately.

Sturgeon said it would be paid in this financial year and it would be separate from any negotiations about pay for the longer term. “There are no strings attached,” she said. 

Sturgeon added: “Of course, a payment like this can never come close to expressing our full admiration for those who have cared for us so heroically.

“But to our health and care workers, it is a demonstration of what we collectively owe you - and a heartfelt thank you for the sacrifices you have made."

The Scottish Government said the cost would be around £180m.

More to follow...