NMW guidance updated to reflect Supreme Court’s ruling on sleep -in shifts 29 April 2021
There has been an update to guidance on paying the National Minimum Wage (NMW) produced by the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) to include examples relating to sleep-in shifts, following on from the recent Supreme Court ruling on the topic. The Supreme Court’s decision means that the period that a worker spends asleep on a sleep -in shift is not classified as working time for the purposes of NMW regulations, and so NMW only has to be paid for the time that they spend awake and working. It does not have to be applied when a worker is sleeping on shift. Under the title of ‘special situations’, the guidance confirms that this stance alters in scenarios where workers are expected to perform various activities for all, or most of a shift, and only allowed to sleep where possible between tasks. The example of napping when not busy is provided. In these situations, then it would be reasonable to suggest that at least the NMW needs to be paid for the entirety of the shift, including for any time spent asleep.
Employers must provide adequate sleeping facilities for workers in order for NMW rules not to apply. If the correct sleeping facilities are not made available, then the NMW is applicable to the full duration of the shift.
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HMRC webinar: National Minimum Wage – unpaid and expenses only work 5 May 2021
HMRC is delivering a live webinar, which will focus on how the National Minimum Wage (NMW) interacts with workers who are unpaid or who are reimbursed in an ‘expenses only’ capacity.
HMRC recognises that this is a common area that results in underpayment of the NMW, and the webinar will focus on internships, volunteers and work trials, explaining when and where there is a requirement for the minimum wage to be applied.
In addition to this, an overview of how HMRC NMW enforcement works will be provided, along with discussion of how mistakes can be rectified.
The webinar will take place between 11:00 and 12:00 on 11 May 2021, and registration can be completed here.
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Latest LPC report explains how COVID-19 has impacted compliance with NMW regulations 13 May 2021 The latest report from the Low Pay Commission (LPC) centres on the topic of non-compliance and enforcement of the National Minimum Wage (NMW) in 2021, following on from the period in which businesses and individuals have had to deal with the economic turbulence posed by coronavirus. The main findings of the report show that low-paid workers have been left more vulnerable than ever as a result of the pandemic, and that businesses have been under immense amounts of pressure during this time. Subsequently, the likelihood of the underpayment of minimum wage rates has increased significantly, and there needs to be an appropriate response from the Government to address this.
Previously submitted recommendations from the LPC are reviewed within the report, which include a focus on worker support, employer engagement, and prioritisation, in terms of enforcement activity being directed to the most serious
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