Care worker loses minimum wage case

Julie Walton is a care worker who looked after an elderly person who suffered from epilepsy and was liable to have fits on a regular basis. However, most of the time the patient was able to attend to her own personal needs. When not required to provide care, Walton was free to undertake any activities she wished although she had to remain in the house. Walton argued that she was providing a 24-hour service and should be paid at least the minimum wage for all 24 hours.

The ruling

The Court of Appeal rejected Walton's claim. It said that the work she was doing came within the definition of what the National Minimum Wage (NMW) legislation refers to as "unmeasured" work as opposed to "time" work.

This meant that any assessment of her entitlement to the NMW could take account of how much time in the day she was actually occupied in directly providing a caring service. This was deemed to be just under seven hours a day and it was that amount of time upon which calculation of her NMW entitlement should be based.

Had the case gone in Walton's favour the cost of care would, as a minimum, have amounted to around £700 a week. Clearly the judges felt that this was politically and economically unacceptable and have interpreted the law accordingly.

* Walton v Independent Living Organisation Court of Appeal 26 February 2003