08.08.18
Unison lodges Supreme Court appeal against ‘completely wrong’ pay ruling
Unison has lodged an appeal against a Court of Appeal ruling that social care companies are not required to pay £400m in backpay to carers who perform ‘sleep-in’ shifts.
The appeal will be considered by the Supreme Court after the Court of Appeal ruled in favour of the removal of the requirement in June.
The decision made by the CoA is part of long-running legal battle to challenge an Employment Tribunal ruling in 2015. The Employment Tribunal originally ruled in favour of an overnight care worker, Clare Tomlinson-Blake, and ruled that Mencap— a charity for social care providers around the UK— should have paid Tomlinson-Brake the full minimum wage for the ‘sleep-in’ shifts.
Since then, however, Mencap took its appeal to the CoA in June, where it was determined that social care providers do not have to make the six years’ worth in back pay to carers working sleep-in shifts.
Mencap, who took the appeal to the CoA on behalf of themselves and other care providers, claimed that they would be unable to afford the back-payments to care staff.
After the judgement in July, chair of the LGA’s Community Wellbeing Board Cllr Izzi Seccombe said the ruling “will come as a relief to care providers and councils because it removes considerable uncertainty and a potential considerable unfunded burden on top of already significant financial pressures on the adult social care sector.”
Following the lodging of the appeal today, Unison said it will be “taking the appeal forward and fighting for our members.”
It added: “We believe in the Court of Appeal got this decision completely wrong and will do everything we can to reverse it.”
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Image credit: Chris Mansfield, iStock images