IMPACT has described the Labour Court recommendation, dealing with sleepover duty for residential care staff, as a major breakthrough. The recommendation, issued last week, calls for the recognition of sleepover duty as working time, requires all employers in the sector to comply with the Working Time act and sets the rate of pay for sleepover duty as not less than the minimum wage of €8.65 per hour. This is an increase of €3.27 on the existing hourly rate.
The rate of pay for sleepover duty applies with immediate effect from the date of the recommendation (18th September 2014).
IMPACT national secretary for health, Louise O'Donnell, welcomed the recommendation and said that the Court had upheld what the unions had been arguing for some time in relation to sleepover duties.
Ms O'Donnell said, "The Court's recommendation gives full recognition to the fact that sleepover duty is working time. That recognition is a huge breakthrough for our members because it was very strongly resisted by employers. This recommendation means that, from today, nobody in the sectors covered by the recommendation can be paid less than the minimum wage for sleepover duty. This is recognition of the hard work and dedication of our members working in these services, and we will be actively engaging with employers in this sector in order to ensure its full implementation."
More resources sought
In a letter to the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Dr James Reilly TD, Louise has called for the provision of adequate resources to ensure the recommendation can be fully implemented.
Louise has also written to the Minister of State for Primary and Social Care at the Department of Health, Kathleen Lynch TD. In her letter, Louise calls on the minister to ensure that services are adequately funded so as to ensure full implementation of the recommendation and an existing circular on enhanced payment for ‘twilight’ hours. She said that staff are falling foul of disputes between funders and service providers and, as a result, are being denied payments and work rosters to which they have a legal entitlement.
A document on frequently asked questions (FAQs) is available here. A short video, in which Louise addresses some immediate questions, is also available on the IMPACT homepage and on the IMPACT YouTube channel.
A copy of the Labour Court's recommendation is available here.
