Zero Hours, Tests & Jabs

unholyangel

Working time is counted as any time you are at your employers disposal. If your employer requires you to be at work for a certain time then that is working time, even if you don't start your official shift/tasks until later. 

If you are a salaried employee then this extra time does not have to be paid but cannot reduce you below NMW. If you are hourly paid, then you should be paid the hourly rate for that time. 

In a nutshell, if they claim it doesn't count as working time, then she can't be penalised for not being there. The test is required to meet the employer's health & safety obligations, ergo it is quite clearly working time that should be paid at the appropriate contractual rate. 

However always wise to note that with less than 2 years service, you can be dismissed for any reason that isn't discrimination of a protected characteric or whistleblowing. The latter requires certain things to have happened though. 

Grumpy_chap

Hi everyone, thank you for the thoughts and comments, and particularly to @unholyangel who confirmed the facts in the way I had understood them.

My wife is paid hourly, at Living Wage, but the calculation is not done as to whether the extra time goes below NMW.

Gladly, the issue is resolved in a way that my wife is happy with.  She never mentioned anything to the company because the others that were also affected had asked before hand.  So, everyone gets paid for the time spent waiting for the vaccine (one-off).  

The daily LFT test is not paid, but to be honest my wife is not too fussed.  I understand the comments that others have made about the logic of the test being done at work.  My wife seems to be quite happy with the 1/2 hour cuppa and natter in the staff room before the start of shift while the LFT is processed.  I guess, in a way, it makes up for not being able to go to a coffee shop during lock-down.

There might be errors in the way this has worked out, but it has worked out so that everyone is happy

JamoLew

Grumpy_chap said:

Hi everyone, thank you for the thoughts and comments, and particularly to @unholyangel who confirmed the facts in the way I had understood them.

My wife is paid hourly, at Living Wage, but the calculation is not done as to whether the extra time goes below NMW.

Gladly, the issue is resolved in a way that my wife is happy with.  She never mentioned anything to the company because the others that were also affected had asked before hand.  So, everyone gets paid for the time spent waiting for the vaccine (one-off).  

The daily LFT test is not paid, but to be honest my wife is not too fussed.  I understand the comments that others have made about the logic of the test being done at work.  My wife seems to be quite happy with the 1/2 hour cuppa and natter in the staff room before the start of shift while the LFT is processed.  I guess, in a way, it makes up for not being able to go to a coffee shop during lock-down.

There might be errors in the way this has worked out, but it has worked out so that everyone is happy

Common sense prevails