EVERY full time 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 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.

In total, it's thought that around 391,000 staff will be eligible for the bonus. 

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.

Scottish Labour leader Richard Leonard said one-off payment was "no substitute at all for the significant increase in salary that all Scotland’s health and care workers deserve".

He added: "This sum announced by Nicola Sturgeon will not make up for the years of pay restraint and austerity that staff in these sectors have had imposed on them by Tory and SNP ministers. 

“Many care home workers are part time, so the fear is that they will end up with a derisory payment.

"There must also be a commitment to a generous year-on-year increase in pay for all key workers, who are Scotland's Covid heroes."

Elsewhere in the speech, the First Minister unveiled new plans to support apprenticeships.

The Pathway to Apprenticeships programme will provide work-based training and a £100 a week allowance for school leavers up to age 18, and will start by helping 1200 young people gain key skills in sectors like construction, business, IT, engineering and early years.

The First Minister also committed to investing £15 million to help more employers take on an apprentice, with businesses being paid £5000 for every new modern apprentice they take on between the ages of 16 and 24.

For apprentices who are care leavers, disabled or from minority ethnic communities, the £5000 grant will be available up to the age of 29.

For every apprentice age 25 or over, the government will pay employers a grant of £3500.

The First Minister also confirmed plans for a £100m package to help low income households over the winter. 

She said: “It will include money to help people pay their fuel bills and make sure children don’t go hungry.

“It will offer additional help for the homeless, and fund an initiative to get older people online and connected.

“And, most importantly of all, it will provide a cash grant of £100 for every family with children in receipt of free school meals.

“The money will be paid before Christmas and families can use it for whatever will help them through the winter.

“That could be food, new shoes or a winter coat for the kids. Families will know best what they need. That’s not for government to decide.

“Initiatives like this are not just about providing practical help to those who need it most. They are an expression of our values and of the kind of country we are seeking to build. A more equal Scotland where we look out for each other in a spirit of solidarity and compassion."

The Child Poverty Action Group said the £100 grant was a "lifeline for the tens of thousands of families across Scotland who have been hammered by the economic impact of coronavirus".

John Dickie from the group said: "It comes when families have faced a year of increased costs and falling incomes as a result of the pandemic with far, far too many forced to rely on foodbanks and charity hardship funds.”