According to Unite, Britain and Ireland’s largest union, said that the current scheme in England only states that students who are undertaking “paid frontline roles” are covered by the scheme.
Those undertaking social care placements must be subject to contract of service, a contract for services, or an apprenticeship, for the provision of adult social services, children’s social care services, NHS funded care, or the provision of adult social care by a registered provider in order to be eligible for the scheme, it adds.
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Unite has written to health and social care secretary Matt Hancock asking him to close the loophole in NHS and Social Care Coronavirus Life Assurance Scheme 2020 as a matter of urgency.
The scheme allows for a £60,000 lump sum payment to be paid to families, if a health or social care worker dies as a result of Covid-19.
In the letter to Hancock, Unite national officers for health Colenzo Jarrett-Thorpe and Jackie Williams call for the scheme to be amended to include students, undertaking unpaid placements.
It states: “Whilst we are sure you will agree that we would hope that their families will never need to call upon this provision, it is deeply unfair that they have the added anxiety on this issue on top of the numerous other concerns that they have at this time.
“Students deserve this peace of mind at a time when they are doing so much to support our country through the coronavirus pandemic.”
Unite understands that the estate of students who die while on unpaid placements could still apply to Hancock to be included in the scheme and the expectation is that he would agree – but the union wants legal underpinnings in place to ensure that happens.
Williams said: “Our NHS staff are giving 100 per cent in the battle against Covid-19, but unfortunately more than 620 health and social care staff have already died as a result of coronavirus.
“The least that the government can do is to close this loophole so that healthcare students on unpaid placements are covered by the £60,000 life assurance lump sum.”
The Department for Health and Social Care has been contacted for comment.
