After a satisfying hard day’s graft at work and having completed another torturously packed train journey home, it is always a lovely feeling to be able to share the company of loved ones during an evening. We get to have a hot shower, put on some comfy pajamas, and enjoy some delicious dinner whilst binge-watching as many thrilling TV shows as possible. The government stipulates on its website that if workers are expected to work for most of a sleep-in shift, even if they can sleep between tasks, they should receive the NMW for the entire shift. However, if workers are expected to sleep for most of the shift, they will only receive NMW when they are woken to perform tasks; they should always be given somewhere suitable to sleep. The landmark decision saw the CA overturn the ruling of the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) which had held that careers working sleep-in shifts were entitled to the NMW for every hour of their shift, regardless of whether they were awake and carrying out relevant duties, or asleep. In overturning this decision and a significant body of case law, the CA has held that sleep-in workers are only entitled to the NMW when they are awake and “actually working”. They are not entitled to the NMW when they are asleep, even if facilities for sleeping are provided by the employer as they are then only “available for work”. So, it has removed minimum wage protections from care and support workers on sleep-in shifts. As has been emblematic in the care sector, Mrs. Tomlinson-Blake received a flat rate payment of £22.35 plus one hour’s pay of £6.70 for a nine-hour-long sleep-in shift. She contended that this pay fell below the NMW as, when accounting for every hour spent at work, her wage equated to around just £3.23 per hour.
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Wednesday, March 19, 2025