Royal Mencap Society v Tomlinson-Blake; Shannon v Rampersad [2021]

This case involved appeals from care workers who sought national minimum wage for periods of on-call time when they were on ‘sleep-in shifts’.   The workers were contractually obliged to spend the night at the workplace and were expected to sleep for most of the period.  The reason they were contracted in this way was that they could be woken if their assistance was required.  They were paid a fixed sum for the shift with additional sums if called upon.  One of the Claimants also received free accommodation.   The issue was whether the care workers were entitled to national minimum wage when they were on their ‘sleep-in shifts’.  The Court of Appeal