Chris Stone acts in the EAT’s first consideration of the “domestic worker exemption” of the NMW regulations 1999
Chris Stone appeared for the successful Respondent to one of three appeals that were heard together by the Employment Appeal Tribunal in Jose v Julio [UKEAT/0597/10]. This is the first appellate authority on Regulation 2(2) of the National Minimum Wage Regulations 1999 (“Reg 2(2)”), which excludes domestic workers from the national minimum wage (“NMW”), provided that certain criteria are fulfilled, including free provision of accommodation and meals. The key matter of contention was the requirement to treat the worker “as a member of a family, in particular as regards to the provision of accommodation and meals and the sharing of tasks and leisure activities”.
The EAT rejected the construction challenges brought by the Appellants, which would have had the effect of requiring employing families to share with the worker precisely the tasks that they had been employed to do (e.g. childcare or domestic chores). Those families who could not share in the worker’s tasks would have been required to pay the minimum wage.
Chris Stone was instructed by Catherine Yallop of Magrath LLP.
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