The Supreme Court has granted carers the right to appeal in the ongoing sleep-in shift legal battle. 

Unison won the right to appeal a July 2018 ruling, which itself overturned a 2017 tribunal, which concluded support workers who do sleep-in shifts should be paid the hourly minimum wage for the periods they are asleep.

If Unison wins its appeal, which is unlikely to be heard until at least October, social care providers could be landed with a £400m bill for six years of back pay.

Matthew Wort, a partner at Anthony Collins Solicitors, said: ‘Today's decision from the Supreme Court extends the period of uncertainty for a care sector desperate for extra Government investment.

‘Care providers are in urgent need of both consistency and clarity about sleep-in pay, but sadly the wait for a definitive final position on the issue is many months away.'