Care company faces group action over unpaid travel time

Care company faces group action over unpaid travel time

A care company is facing a group action legal case by workers over its failure to pay staff for time spent travelling between clients.

MiHomecare paid carer Caroline Barlow an out of court settlement when she took action over its failure to pay her for travel time. The business told the BBC that it has since corrected payments to staff where they were incorrect but lawyers for Ms Bradshaw are now encouraging other workers to consider taking action.

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MiHomecare said it was disappointed that Ms Bradshaw had chosen to take the legal route in her dispute over the payments. The carer, who had worked for the business for less than six months, said she needed to be paid for travelling between clients’ homes in Devon where the narrow country lanes meant she often spent an hour on the road between each one.

She said that her out of court settlement was proof to other workers that they could take on large businesses and win.

Her lawyers, Leigh Day, stated that hundreds of current and former staff at the company could also be entitled to payments and appealed for them to come forward and launch a group case.

MiHomecare, which is part of the Mitie outsourcing business, has around 4,500 staff caring for elderly and disabled people. The company has already paid out up to £2,500 each to around 100 carers working in South Wales who had not received money for time spent travelling between clients.