The government today announced a further one-month suspension of
minimum wage enforcement concerning sleep-in shifts in the social
care sector to minimise disruption to the sector and seek to
ensure workers receive the wages they are owed.
This follows July’s decision to waive all historic penalties in
the sector where employers incorrectly paid workers a flat-rate
for sleep-in shifts instead of hourly rates. This was in response
to concerns over the combined impact which financial penalties
and arrears of wages could have on the stability and long-term
viability of providers.
Today’s announcement will allow the government to establish how
providers’ back pay bills will affect vulnerable people’s care.
The evidence base will also ensure any intervention is
proportionate and necessary and could be required to satisfy EU
State aid rules on government funding for private organisations.
During this temporary pause, the government will develop a new
enforcement scheme for the sector to encourage and support social
care providers to identify back pay owed to their staff. This
will help to minimise the impact of future minimum wage
enforcement in the sector while seeking to ensure workers receive
the arrears they are owed.
Exceptional measures announced in July will remain in place until
guidelines on this new approach are outlined next month.
It remains the government’s expectations that all employers pay
their workers according to the law, including for sleep-in
shifts, as set out in guidance entitled ‘Calculating the National
Minimum Wage’.
