LGA responds to Supreme Court ruling on sleep-in shifts

The Supreme Court today confirmed that the National Minimum Wage does not apply to hours when workers are expected to sleep, including time when care workers are paid to sleep overnight in someone’s home on a precautionary basis.

Cllr Ian Hudspeth, Chairman of the Local Government Association’s Community Wellbeing Board, said:

“This significant ruling is in line with councils’ and social care providers’ understanding of the law.

“Had the appeal been upheld, care providers and councils providing social care would have faced massive bills, which would have increased the huge financial pressures they are already facing.

“As we said in our submission to the Court, the LGA strongly supports care workers being paid a fair wage for their valued work.

“Of course, today’s decision does not remove the need for a sustainable funding settlement for adult and children’s social care, which includes important decisions on the workforce such as pay, recruitment and career development.

“The Government should bring forward its proposals on adult social care funding as soon as possible.”