UNISON has welcomed the ruling by the European Court of Justice that time spent travelling to and from first and last appointments by workers without a fixed office should be regarded as working time.
Commenting on the ruling today (Thursday) UNISON general secretary Dave Prentis said:
“This case rightly demonstrates that mobile workers must be paid for all their working time. This judgment is bound to have a significant impact in the UK, particularly on home care workers.
“Tens of thousands of home care workers are not even getting the minimum wage because their employers fail to pay them for the time they spend travelling between the homes of all the people they care for.
“Now thanks to this case, they should also be paid when they are travelling to their first visit, and again back home from their last.
“Having to factor more hours into workers’ timesheets will no doubt add to the pressure on employers with contracts in our public services. Ministers must now make plans for how this judgment is to be funded, and ensure that social care employers can no longer get away with paying illegal wages.”