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Employers running residential care homes and other similar establishments have been warned about the underpaying of staff through ‘sleep-in' shifts. A common practice in the care industry, sleep-in shifts allow employers to pay staff a nominal shift allowance rather than standard hourly pay. But unions are increasingly launching working-time and unlawful-deduction-of-wages claims as staff voice their annoyance over underpaid salaries. Many workers in certain sectors prefer to work more personalised shifts, so the pattern of late shift, sleep-in and early shift is common. However, this may breach the Working Time Regulations 1998, as there is rarely an “operational justification” for the worker to stay on for the early shift. By law, w orkers should have 11 hours' rest in any 24-hour period. Time spent on an employer's premises for a standard sleep-in shift counts as working time. Organisations providing essential 24-hour care should be exempt from daily rest requirements, although they still have to provide workers with “compensatory rest”, which should be taken as soon as possible after a shift's end. Employers could comply with the regulations by allowing workers to take such compensatory rest periods at the end of their sleep-in shift. Failure to do so could land employers in trouble with Health and Safety Executive officials, eventual fines and possible criminal proceedings. Recent Employment Tribunal cases have also shown that sleep-in shifts should be covered by National Minimum Wage regulations, although the prospect is yet to reach higher courts. Any employer unsure of the law surrounding staff payments should consult with employment law experts before drafting contracts.
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