Key changes and developments

• A new European Court of Justice (ECJ) case, DJ v Radiotelevizija Slovenija and RJ v Stadt Offenbach am Main [2021] C344/19 and C-580/19, ruled that a worker who is required to remain contactable and able to return to their workplace when required will only be “working” when on standby if the limits placed on them “objectively and very significantly” affect their ability to use the standby time for their own purposes (see also page 205);

• In March 2021, in Royal Mencap Society v Tomlinson-Blake and Shannon v Rampersad and anor [2021] UKSC 8, the Supreme Court dealt “a huge blow for thousands across the country” when it ruled that social care staff are not entitled to the National Minimum Wage for every hour of sleep-in shifts;

• In Smith v Pimlico Plumbers Ltd UKEAT/0211/19, the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) confirmed that the principles established in King v Sash Window (see page 225) were limited to cases of leave that is not taken, rather than leave taken but unpaid by the employer.