Leading care home operator Barchester Healthcare paid £11.4 million in Covid-19 bonus payments to frontline staff in 2021 in recognition of their “exceptional hard work”.

The figures were revealed in Barchester’s latest company accounts which also show the care home operator spent £4.2 million on sick pay and £2.7 million on PPE in the year, as well as receiving £23 million in grant income from the government, including £17 million from the Infection Control Fund.

Pre-tax profit fell to £4.1 million in 2021 compared with £19.2 million in 2020.

Directors’ pay halved to £1.96 million with the highest paid director taking £898,000 compared with £2.3 million in 2020.

A Barchester spokesperson said: “The remuneration scheme for Barchester care staff is the best in the care sector with regular pay rises and loyalty bonuses for staff at care homes and all nurses having their NMC PIN’s reimbursed. In July 2022 a £700 loyalty bonus was paid to staff and during the Covid-19 pandemic, we paid three additional bonuses to our front-line staff in order to thank them for their tireless work in maintaining extremely high standards of care. As part of our ongoing commitment to continually invest in the quality of care for residents and patients by recruiting and retaining the very best staff, we are adding to our sector-leading staff benefits and rewards with an additional £8.1 million being invested in our pay and bonus structure this year (2022).

“We are proud to be an above national living wage employer who is constantly investing in our homes, and we are very supportive and grateful for the work that our staff in our homes and hospitals do in delivering high quality care for our residents and patients.

“As a Top 100 Apprenticeship Employer, we take a proactive approach to developing and retaining our staff through internally developed and externally accredited training. And, as voted by our own employees, last year we were awarded a Two Star Outstanding ‘Best Companies to Work For’ accreditation (being the only large healthcare provider to have received such accreditation), in recognition of our standing as an employer of choice in the sector.”