NEWS RELEASE

From the Labour Councillors on Bristol City Council

8
th
July, 2014 for immediate release
Labour Backs Fair Pay for Homecare Workers in Bristol
Labour in Bristol are backing a move to make sure homecare workers in the city are
paid for their travel time between the homes of the older people they care for.
A recent ruling by HM Revenue and Customs forced a maor homecare provider to pay
!"##$### to its staff who had not been paid for travel time between the homes of their
clients. %hree thousand homecare workers were travelling between the homes they
visited without any pay for the time it took.
&'e know this is happening to homecare workers in Bristol and it is outrageous.
Companies that provide homecare workers should beware that they could face a
massive backpay bill if they are not paying travel time to their staff$( says Cllr Barry
Clark$ Labour$ Hengrove.
%he ruling by the by HMRC followed an investigation by the national minimum wage
enforcement team and a campaign by )*+,-*. %hey found that if the travel time was
added in to the homecare workers. weekly hours their pay would amount to less than
the legal minimum wage / !".01 per hour.
&'e want to hear from any Bristol homecare workers who are not paid for travel time.
Labour councillors will also be demanding to know if all the council.s homecare
providers comply with the law on the minimum wage concerning travel time between
clients. +f any fail this test we will press the Mayor to cancel contracts and we will
demand that homecare staff are fully compensated for the hours they commit to each
week$( he said.
)ltimately Labour councillors want the council to be a Living 'age employer 2!3."4 an
hour5 a pay rate they want all the council contractors to pay their staff before they award
contracts.
Contact:
Cllr Barry Clark 07412 90 !2
or Labour office: 0117 922 201" or 079#7 474!#
Labour $ creatin% a fairer Bristol