CE Care staff 'may not get minimum wage'

Dozens of council-employed care workers may have been paid below the minimum wage, according to a leaked report. Days after meeting bosses at Cheshire East Council to discuss the concerns, the report's author lost her job.

The report, written by the senior HR officer Sue Wallace in October and seen by the BBC, warned the average monthly pay of some social care staff was likely to have fallen below the minimum wage.

The claim centres on the number of "sleep-in" shifts – paid at a lower rate than other duties – allocated to some staff.

While on night shifts, employees providing care in people's own homes are allowed to sleep, providing they can be woken to deal with any incidents. According to minimum wage legislation, employers must take into account shifts where staff are allowed to sleep as long as they are "at work and under certain work-related responsibilities". Such "sleep-in" shifts were paid £34 for eight to ten hours' work.

The report says Cheshire East Council "looked at" the issue "a couple of years ago", but "the decision then was 'to do nothing'."

Tim Ellis from public sector union Unison's North West of England office, said the pay of staff working the shifts at many care providers was "a disgrace". "They're not even paid the legal minimum for all the time they are required to be at work, and are at work," he said.

Cheshire East Council said it commissioned an independent review after Ms Wallace's report was submitted. It added it "takes both the welfare of staff and its legal obligations very seriously" but would not comment further "until the review is complete".

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