What is crisis pay?

Crisis pay is additional pay that is offered to workers when they are working in risky conditions. Crisis pay can also be paid when workers must work additional hours due to a staffing crisis.

Typically, crisis pay is paid to workers who play essential roles in society, such as doctors and nurses. A good example of widespread crisis pay occurred during the Covid pandemic when many positions in the medical field were offered crisis pay to continue working in unknown conditions of a deadly new disease.