Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what advice they (1) received from HMRC, and (2) gave to local authorities, on sleeping-in payments over the last ten years.

All businesses – irrespective of their size or business sector – are responsible for paying the correct minimum wage to their staff.

It is not uncommon for employment law to be clarified in the courts and tribunals. Employment Tribunal judgments have, over time, clarified the position on what constitutes “work” in connection with sleeping time and therefore when the NMW is payable for sleep-in shifts. Government guidance issued in February 2015 included clarification from those judgments. Ministers from BEIS and the Department of Health most recently wrote to Local Authorities on 27 October 2017 regarding payment of NMW or NLW for sleep-in shifts to ensure clarity on those rules.

The Government recognises that the cumulative financial liability of penalties and arrears of wages associated with “sleep in” shifts could pose challenges to some providers in the social care sector. It is exploring options to minimise any impact on the sector and has opened discussions with the European Commission. It also introduced the interim Social Care Compliance Scheme (SCCS) on 1 November, which gives providers in the sector 12 months in which to conduct a self-review of any arrears and then up to three months in which to re-pay workers.