Published on 14 July 2022
Dear Western Health staff,
You may be aware that the Victorian Government recently announced the Worker Winter Retention and Surge Payment for staff working in public health service, Ambulance Victoria and Forensicare.
The retention and surge payment will be available to all eligible Victorian public health service employees for a period of 3 months from 1 July 2022 until 30 September 2022.
Below is a list of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) that provides more information regarding eligibility, key dates and the impacts of leave and changes to employment hours.
In summary:
- A total pro-rata payment, capped at $3,000 per employee, will be available to eligible employees in public health services. This includes clinical and non-clinical employees. For staff that work at multiple organisations, as it is capped and pro-rata they will receive a payment from each employer aligned to the number of hours worked at that workplace.
- The payment will be split into two payments over the eligibility period. Each of the two payments will be capped at $1,500 and prorated against the worker’s FTE or hours worked.
- All full-time, part-time and casual Victorian public health workers who are directly employed by a Victorian public health service are eligible for the payment where they remain employed as at 15 August 2022 (for the first payment) and 30 September 2022 (for the second payment) and meet all eligibility
- To be eligible for the full prorated payment over the eligibility period, workers must remain employed within the Victorian public health system from 1 July 2022 until 30 September 2022. Casual employees must have worked at least one rostered shift between 1 July 2022 and 30 September 2022 to be eligible for a payment on a pro rata basis based on their hours worked during the eligibility period.
- New full-time, part-time or casual employees who start between 1 July 2022 and 30 September 2022 will be eligible for a pro-rata payment based on their time employed, or hours worked.
- Employees on paid and unpaid leave (exclusions apply) will be eligible for the payment.
- An employee who is on leave without pay (other than unpaid parental leave) for part of the eligibility period will still be eligible but only for a pro-rata payment based on the hours.
Western Health will process payments as soon as practicable after the end of the pay cycle that includes the worked shift on 15 August 2022 (for the first payment) and 30 September 2022 (for the second payment).
If you have any questions that are not addressed in the FAQs, please contact your People and Culture Business Partner in the first instance.
Kind regards
Joe Debono
Director People and Culture Operations and Workforce Systems