Government suspends enforcement activity over sleep-in shifts and minimum wage

The Government has temporarily suspended enforcement activity and is waiving historic financial penalties against employers concerning sleep-in shift pay in the social care sector.

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (DBEIS) said the ‘exceptional measures’ followed concerns over the combined impact which financial penalties and arrears of wages could have on the stability and long-term viability of providers.

The measures mean the Government will:

• waive historic financial penalties owed by employers who have underpaid their workers for overnight sleep-in shifts before 26 July 2017
• temporarily suspend HMRC enforcement activity concerning payment of sleep-in shifts by social care providers until 2 October 2017

DBEIS added: “Social care providers play a vital role in supporting some of the most vulnerable people in our society and workers in that sector should be paid fairly for the important work they do. The Government remains equally committed to making sure workers in this sector receive the minimum wage they are legally entitled to, including historic arrears.

“The Government will continue to look at this issue extremely carefully alongside industry representatives to see how it might be possible to minimise any impact on provision of social care, and ensure that action taken to protect workers is fair and proportionate.”

The Government has also reaffirmed its expectation that all employers pay their workers according to the law, including for sleep-in shifts, as set out in guidance entitled ‘Calculating the National Minimum Wage’.

See also: Sleep-ins’ and the National Minimum Wage - Nick Newman on the impact on employers of Employment Appeal Tribunal guidance on sleep-ins' and the National Minimum Wage.