Court of Appeal rules that Mencap and other care providers do not have to pay minimum wage, including backdated pay, to overnight care workers who sleep-in.
More about employing a personal assistant
The issue of back pay started when an employment appeal tribunal (EAT) ruled that Mencap must pay the minimum wage to carers sleeping overnight, who provide safety and reassurance.
Disability Rights UK raised concerns that this ruling might have affected anyone employing a personal assistant (PA) who could not afford to give back pay (and were not originally assessed with this liability in mind).
Following this ruling, the employment appeal tribunal decision is overturned.
Commenting on the case, UNISON general secretary Dave Prentis said:
“This judgment is a mistake, but let’s be clear where the fault lies. The blame for this sorry state of affairs that’s hitting some of the country’s lowest paid workers must be laid at the government’s door.
“Ministers are so consumed by Brexit that they’re ignoring huge problems around them. Social care is in crisis, and this situation wouldn’t have arisen if the government had put enough money into the system and enforced minimum wage laws properly.
“Sleep-in shifts involve significant caring responsibilities, often for very vulnerable people. With too few staff on at night, most care workers are often on their feet all shift, only grabbing a few minutes sleep if they can.
“That’s why it’s such a disgrace that workers have been paid a pittance for sleep-ins – with some getting just £30 for a ten-hour shift.
“As a society we should value care staff and the work they do, but unfortunately we don’t. After this judgment who could blame care workers for leaving in their droves.”
UNISON, took the initial case to the employment tribunal on behalf of care worker Claire Tomlinson-Blake. It is considering an appeal to the Supreme Court.
Note: Many local authorities have now accepted that hourly sleep-in rates should be paid and have adjusted people’s care packages in line with this.
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