Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by the Prime Minister on 8 July 2020 (HC Deb, col 964) that they will “invest massively in our care homes and in our care workers”, and further to the judgment in Royal Mencap Society (Respondent) v Tomlinson-Blake (Appellant) [2021] UKSC 8, what plans they have to legislate to provide that care workers are paid at least the national minimum wage for the entirety of a sleep-in shift.

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

The Government is considering the implications of the judgement with care commissioners and providers to consider what action, if any, is needed. We therefore have no plans to bring forward legislative proposals to amend National Minimum Wage regulations at this time.