Teachers have told Tes Scotland that they feel disappointed and undervalued because they have yet to receive the one-off £400 payment promised by the government when Scottish Qualifications (SQA) exams were cancelled.

Some councils made the £400 (before decuctions) payment - designed to recognise the extra work teachers would have to undertake in 2020-21 - in July.

However, teachers from Aberdeenshire Council, Highland Council and the independent sector say they have yet to receive the cash, despite completing the work it was supposed to recognise months ago.

Background: £400 payment for teacher ‘exam’ workload - what you need to know

News: ‘Divisive’ to exclude support staff from £400 payment

Long read: What teachers really think about the ACM

Related: Teachers to earn below minimum wage for exam work

The Scottish Council of Independent Schools (SCIS) says the blame lies with the government for dragging its heels when it comes to providing the funding needed to make the payments.

One teacher, who had yet to receive the payment, said they had lost thousands of pounds over the past two years because they were unable to earn extra cash marking exam papers, and they would “actually really like to be reimbursed for work done almost six months ago”.

The teacher, who did not wish to be named, added: “I was chosen for verification - this was very stressful, but still no pay.”

Another teacher who has yet to receive the payment said: “This additional work for the alternative certification model [ACM] wasn’t optional like SQA marking, we had to do it.

“Our pupils had no study leave, so our non-contact time was spent preparing extra revision material for those still to sit assessments.

“We had to do all the marking in our own time. I took mine home and had to juggle between marking my pupils’ work and verifying marking from another school, who had sat their assessments earlier than us.

“We met all the deadlines set by the school and the council and it is disappointing to discover that my employer isn’t putting the same value on our efforts as those councils that paid staff in July or September.”

Aberdeenshire Council said that the payment would be in its teachers’ pay packets at the end of October, but Highland Council said it was waiting for confirmation from the Scottish government that “funding will be provided to cover the costs” before paying staff.

A spokesperson said that reassurance had been provided that payments would be made “as soon as possible after we receive authorisation to do so”.

John Edward - director of the Scottish Council of Independent Schools - said that some private schools had already paid out the money but that the delay in other schools was a result of the Scottish government failing to process payments in a timely manner.

He said: “We have no reason to believe there is any issue in principle - there has never been any suggestion our schools will not be included and there was a form specifically for independent schools.

“It is an administrative issue on the government’s side and it just seems to be a matter of independent schools being at the bottom of the list - and not for the first time.”

A Scottish government spokesperson said: “Officials are working to process and finalise funding letters as quickly as possible for claims for the £400 additional payment to teachers.

“We are aware that some local authorities have decided to make these payments to their teachers prior to receiving the payment from the Scottish government, while others are awaiting the funds before doing so.”

The Scottish government said the deadline for applications was 30 September.