Standby time

A worker who is required by the employer to spend time at or near their premises waiting to see whether they are going to be needed to work is entitled to the NMW for all that waiting time. This is the case whether it is described as “on- call”, “standby” or “downtime”. In particular, employment advisory service Acas reminds employers that “it is against the law to ask employees to “clock off” during quiet times but still remain on the premises”.

Workers are probably not entitled to the NMW for time spent waiting at their own home to see if they are to be required to perform a shift, but this will depend on the written contract terms between the worker and their employer.

The TUC is campaigning for compensation, such as two hours’ pay, when shifts are cancelled at short notice (see page 50).