A leading care company could be facing a substantial bill for non-payment of the minimum wage, it was revealed this week.
MiHomecare is facing the possibility of a group action lawsuit from employees following an out-of-court settlement in which one of the firm’s carers was paid £1,250.
Caroline Barlow had taken legal action against the company for not paying her for travel time.
Even though she had worked for the business in the West Country for less than six months, she had to travel for up to 30 minutes during visits to elderly clients and it was decided she was owed in excess of £1,000.
Ms Barlow said she was delighted to receive the sum of money and has urged others in the care profession to fight for the earnings which they are owed by their employer.
“I’m hoping it will make other people realise that you can take on a big company and you can win,” she said.
Care workers who provide domiciliary care have long argued that they are in fact receiving less than the minimum wage because they don’t get paid for the time it takes them to travel between jobs.
MiHomecare – which employs more than 4,000 carers nationwide – said that it was disappointed that Ms Barlow had chosen a “formal route” and that since last year it had been correcting carers’ pay where it was found to be wrong.