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The EAT has given a helpful decision regarding payments for time spent on call, in the case of South Manchester Abbyfield Society and Ors.
The Respondents were employed as housekeepers in sheltered accommodation and were required to spend time on call, during which they were provided with private accommodation to use.
The EAT said that not all of the hours spent on call could be taken into account for the purposes of a claim in contract under the National Minimum Wage Act. Under the National Minimum Wage Regulations, the Respondents could only claim for hours that they were awake for the purpose of working. However, it is notable that a claim might have existed, had it not been outside the limitation period, in relation to statutory compensation for breach of rest breaks or maximum working week regulations.
The case was remitted to the Employment Tribunal for a freshly constituted panel to consider how long the Respondents spent awake for the purpose of working, to decide whether a payment was due under the National Minimum Wage Regulations.
