WARRINGTON North MP Charlotte Nichols has expressed her disappointment at the recent Supreme Court ruling which means care workers will not be paid minimum wage for doing sleep-ins at work.
Following the Supreme Court decision on paying the National Minimum Wage for care workers doing sleep-ins, Ms Nichols says she will be standing “shoulder to shoulder” with UNISON to ensure care providers don’t start cutting pay rates as a result of the ruling.
Ms Nichols said: “I am incredibly disappointed with the decision at the Supreme Court which has ruled that social care workers should not be paid the National Minimum Wage for sleep-ins.
“This is fundamentally unfair. Care workers are spending time in their workplace and can be called to provide urgent care at a moment’s notice.
“Care workers are among the lowest-paid workers in our economy, despite the vital, skilled and often emotionally challenging work they do. This ruling only further drives down employment standards in the sector, at a time when we’ve all been aware more than ever of just how important and undervalued our care workers are.
“I stand shoulder to shoulder with UNISON in calling for the Government to act quickly to ensure that care providers do not start cutting pay rates as a result, and to bring forward legislation to ensure that sleep-in shifts will be considered working time as part of wider necessary reforms of the Social Care sector.”
A disgraceful decision. Care workers who stay away from home overnight with an expectation that they are available to deliver care are surely working.
One thing is clear- @StandUpForSC will continue to campaign for a genuine living wage for every hour worked by care workers. https://t.co/W1cZwG7nBy
— UNISON North West (@NorthWestUNISON) March 19, 2021
