Government: Health Professionals to Be Given One-off Bonus of €350

Bratislava, December 17 (TASR) – Health professionals will be given a one-off bonus in the amount of €350, the Government decided at its extraordinary session on Friday.

The bonus will be included in the December salary that will be paid in January 2022. The Government has earmarked €50,705,746 for this purpose.

Health Minister Vladimir Lengvarsky (an OLaNO nominee) thanked health professionals for their work. “We appreciate their work immensely,” he said, adding that all health care workers, as well as medical students working in a health care facility, will be entitled to this bonus.

Prime Minister Eduard Heger (OLaNO) stated that health professionals as well as social workers, who will also receive it, deserve the reward.

Heger also pointed out that the Government managed to save the package of almost €51 million, allocated to the bonuses. Together with Finance Minister Igor Matovic (OLaNO), they denied that the Government’s decision was a response to the protests of health professionals, noting that the inter-ministerial negotiations on the possibility and method of paying the bonuses took a long time.

At its extraordinary session on Friday, the Government also approved a bonus of €350 for people working in social care facilities, Labour Minister Milan Krajniak (We Are Family) said at a briefing after the Cabinet session on Friday. More than €15 million has been earmarked for these bonuses.

“I’d like to inform the people who work in social care facilities but also in selected entities providing social guardianship and social protection of children, that they, as well as health professionals, will be paid a bonus of €350. This means that this will be a second reward for them. The first project was paid from EU sources, this will be funded from the state budget,” said Krajniak.

The minister estimated that the bonus will be paid to 32,222 employees.