Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that social care providers are not reducing the amount paid to staff working sleep-in shifts following the Supreme Court ruling of 19 March 2021 on sleep-in shifts.

The Supreme Court has upheld the Court of Appeal judgment that workers on ‘sleep-in’ shifts are only entitled to the minimum wage for the time they are awake for the purpose of working.

The vast majority of care workers are employed by private sector providers who ultimately set their pay, independent of central Government. Local authorities work with care providers to determine a fair rate of pay based on local market conditions. The Government is working closely with local authorities and providers in order to consider the implications of the judgement for the sector and next steps.