Warnings have come from the Royal Mencap Society that care providers for people with learning disabilities are facing a £400m bill for back pay that could bankrupt the entire sector. After the government reversed its decision that “sleep-in-support” is exempt from minimum pay legislation, HMRC is pursuing providers for six years of wages.
Mencap are saying the sector will be thrown into havoc if enforcement action to claim the money deemed to be owed resumes without commitment from the government to cover the back-pay bill.
Derek Lewis, the charity’s chair, said:
“There would be, for a substantial period of time, chaos in the sector and the people who would suffer are people with learning disabilities, their families who would be subjected to great stress and the staff who care for them, many of whom would become redundant.”
