We are very lucky at Mencap to have such loyal and hardworking colleagues in our support services. Every day I feel humbled by their dedication and commitment to the people they support. Over the last few years, we have put considerable resource into training, embedding values and engaging our staff. We were very concerned when the sleep-in crisis happened that our work would be undone by the inevitable conflict we faced: the financial uncertainty of having to pay nearly £20m of back-pay, versus wanting to pay our staff more.

The situation is complex. In 2016, a court case raised issues over what the sector pays its care workers for sleep-in shifts – this is where staff stay over at someone’s home in case they need assistance overnight. Previously, according to governmentset guidelines, we paid a flat rate for these shifts, with an hourly rate kicking in if a worker had to get up during the night. The case ruled that workers were entitled to the National Minimum Wage for sleep-ins and this prompted HMRC to order that we, and other care providers, pay back-pay to all staff for their previous sleep-in shifts over the last six years. We did not have a problem with starting to pay according to their guidance – in fact we were pleased that this would mean more money for our workers. The major concern for us was the back-pay, as statutory social care should be funded by the state and we were not given the money to fund this in the first place. It would have meant taking money away from all the other services, support and programmes that we provide for people with a learning disability. There was no movement from the government to sort things out, so we were forced to refer the issue to the Court of Appeal.