Beware of sleepovers

In the recent case of  Whittlestone v BJP Home Support Ltd it was held that employees who are carrying out “time work” for the purposes of regulation 3 of the National Minimum Wage  Regulations 1999 are entitled to receive the National Minimum Wage for carrying out that work.

In this case the Claimant was a care worker who was paid at an hourly rate of £6.35 for time spent caring for clients at their homes but was not paid for the time taken to travel to the client’s homes. She was also required to undertake “sleepovers”, where between the hours of 11:00pm and 7:00am she was required to be present at a client’s home. During this time she was allowed to sleep unless there were tasks she needed to perform. She was paid a fixed £40.00 per “sleepover” rather than an hourly rate..

The Court held that the Claimant was entitled to the National Minimum Wage throughout the time she was required to be at the client’s home, regardless of whether her services were required. She was also entitled to this for her travel time between clients’ homes.

For more information on the National Minimum Wage and how it  can affect your business, please contact Mark Bestley, Lee Stone or Nicola Parker.