Sleep-In Shifts and the Minimum Wage
Written and reviewed by the Care Home Accountants editorial team. Last reviewed 28 July 2026.
Sleep-in shifts sit at the heart of how care providers pay staff, and for years it was unclear whether the whole shift counted for the minimum wage. The Supreme Court settled the point in 2021.
We explain what the Mencap judgment decided, the National Living Wage rates that apply from April 2025, and where travel time counts, because social care is a known focus for HMRC enforcement.
The Mencap Supreme Court Judgment
In Royal Mencap Society v Tomlinson-Blake [2021] UKSC 8, decided on 19 March 2021, the Supreme Court held that a worker permitted to sleep during a sleep-in shift is not doing time work while asleep. The minimum wage applies only to the time the worker is awake and working.
The full ruling is published by the Supreme Court. It ended the earlier reading that every hour of a sleep-in had to be paid at the minimum wage, and it remains the governing authority for care providers.
Time Work and the Sleeping Worker
The distinction is between being available to work and actually working. A worker who is expected to sleep and is woken only when needed is, for the sleeping hours, available rather than working. Pay for those hours is a matter of contract, not the minimum wage.
Once the worker is awake and dealing with a resident, that time is working time and must be paid at least the minimum wage. Getting the record of awake time right is central to running care home payroll that stands up to scrutiny.
The National Living Wage Rates from April 2025
From 1 April 2025 the National Living Wage is £12.21 for workers aged 21 and over. The rate is £10.00 for those aged 18 to 20, and £7.55 for those aged 16 to 17 and for apprentices. These rates set the floor for all working time, including awake time on a sleep-in.
The government sets out the qualifying working hours for which the minimum wage must be paid, which is where the awake-time principle is applied in practice.
Travel Between Care Appointments
For home care staff, travel between one care appointment and the next counts as working time for the minimum wage. The ordinary commute from home to the first call and back from the last does not.
This catches domiciliary providers who pay only for time spent in the client's home. When the pay for contact time is averaged across the working time including travel, the effective rate can fall below the minimum wage, which is a common enforcement finding.
Payroll Records and HMRC Enforcement
Social care is a known focus for HMRC minimum wage enforcement, and underpayment can be pursued as arrears with penalties. Clear records of awake time, travel time and hours worked are the defence.
The way places are paid does not change what staff are owed, though it does shape the budget the wage bill has to fit, as our guide to care home fees and funding sets out.