Blog: Taking the sleep ins fight to the Supreme Court

Our union has a proud record of standing up for our members, in workplaces, on the streets and in the courts. One of the proudest moments of my life was our Employment Tribunal Fees victory – so I’m pleased that in the coming months we will once again be taking the fight for our members rights to the highest court in the land. We’re fighting every step of the way to win our case on “sleep ins” – making sure care workers who stay overnight with the vulnerable people they care for receive the pay they deserve for their work. And this week we were granted permission to take our case to the Supreme Court. That’s great news for the care workers affected, an opportunity to clarify the law once and for all – and a chance to win again for low-paid women workers. Across the UK, thousands of care staff work sleep-in shifts looking after vulnerable adults and children, many with significant, challenging needs. As a society we should be celebrating the valuable job care workers do, not expecting them to survive on a pittance. Care employees are working on sleep-in shifts – so it’s outrageous that those hours aren’t counted as working time. They aren’t free to come and go as they please and, as often the sole member of staff, they’re likely to be on their feet for much of the night – it’s work, and it needs to be paid. And as we take the fight to the Supreme Court – that’s the case we...
Source: UNISON Health care news - Category: UK Health Authors: Tags: General secretary's blog News Sleep-in payments Source Type: news