Subtitles section Play video Print subtitles The Supreme Court has ruled that care workers across the UK who have to sleep at their workplace in case they're needed and not entitled to the minimum wage for their whole shift. If the case had been successful, care providers would have faced a £400 million bill for back pay, which they said they couldn't afford. Unions say the ruling underlines the low pay that care staff get our social affairs, correspondent Allison Holt explains. 20 year old Georgia works with people who have learning disabilities on this shift. She will sleep in overnight, just in case one of the residents needs help. We have a monitor beside our bed on the night and someone who supports medication. Today's court cases about how much someone like Georgia should be paid for a shift where the expectation is that she will sleep. She gets the minimum wage for being here. Elsewhere, staff may only get a £30 flat rate. If our gentlemen was to anesthesia, we'd have to jump straight out of bed, put RPP on and return to that professional mode of knowing how we deal with the seizures, the woman who brought today's case says the court decision that care workers like her don't have to be paid. The minimum wage for sleep ins was a blow. The health and social care workers do one of the most important jobs that anyone could ever do. They look after other people, and it's the ultimate betrayal because basically, it's saying, um that they aren't undertaking work when they're doing these sleepover shifts. This Supreme Court judgment is very clear that the law provides an exemption. That means that people on sleep in shifts are not entitled to the national minimum wage. Nevertheless, this case highlights wider questions about care. Worker pay. The head of the charity Men cap is relieved they won't now face a huge bill for back pay, but says it's exposed the underfunding of care. This has to be a moment in time when we all unite together and ask our government and those in power to seriously look at the pay of the social care workforce. I'm just about to put my PP on. The government says it supports the vital work of staff like Georgia and has provided billions in extra care funding during the pandemic. Now it's time for me to try and get some sleep. Allison Holt, BBC News. Good night.
B1 minimum wage care wage sleep minimum court Care workers not entitled to minimum wage while they sleep on shift says Supreme Court - BBC News 11 1 林宜悉 posted on 2021/03/20 More Share Save Report Video vocabulary