9 October 2015: Working Time and Sleep
Earlier this year we wrote about whether the Working Time Regulations and National Minimum Wage covered time spent travelling to work. Another issue is whether an on-call night worker can claim the NMW for time on call at night.
In Shannon v Clifton House Residential, reported this week, the EAT held that a live-in worker on call at night was only entitled to the NMW for the hours during which he is actually awake and working. Mr Shannon lived in the residential home where he was employed. There was another night worker on duty and in practice Mr Shannon was rarely called upon.
The decision, on the facts, was that Mr Shannon was not working while asleep but on call. However if he had been more involved at night, the decision might have been different. Nonetheless the decision will be relevant to the care sector in particular and demonstrates that mere presence does not itself necessarily entitle a worker to the NMW for time on call.
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