Supreme Court decision an affront to the dignity of care workers

Belsize Village, London, UK: Following the UK Supreme Court’s judgement in favour of Mencap in Royal Mencap Society v Tomlinson-Blake this morning, Penrose Care’s managing director Robert Stephenson-Padron, a long-time advocate for the ethical treatment of home care workers, made the following statement:

“It is a very disappointing day and it is especially sad the Supreme Court would make such a ruling amidst the country’s social care workers risking their lives in the service of others during a global pandemic.

For many years, Penrose Care was one of only a handful of providers that fully complied with the prevailing, prior to the previous Court of Appeal ruling, interpretation of the national minimum wage law for sleep-ins and were hoping for a Supreme Court ruling that would force our peers to join us.

Penrose Care’s heroic care workers however can rest assured that we will not be lowering their sleep-in pay to be in line with our peers. We will rather double our efforts to explain to potential clients why ethical labour standards in care lead to better outcomes. For example, Penrose Care, the UK’s pioneer in the ethical provision of home care, has had zero confirmed cases of COVID-19 among clients since the start of the global pandemic, and I attribute this mostly to our ethical workplace practices.”

Media Contact

Robert Stephenson-Padron – 020 7435 2644

About Penrose Care

Penrose Care is an ethical provider of home care services in London, United Kingdom to adults with disabilities such as acquired brain injury and elderly persons including those with dementia. The company operates upon a fundamental belief that to promote a caring workforce, the organisation itself must be caring. As the pioneer of ethics in home care in the UK, Penrose Care in 2012 became one of the first four providers in the United Kingdom to become an Accredited Living Wage Employer and in 2013 the first independent sector provider to be compliant with Citizens UK’s landmark Social Care Charter. Penrose Care was named the Living Wage Champion for the London region in 2016 and for Industry Leadership in 2018 by the Living Wage Foundation. In July 2019, Penrose Care was named as one of the first 16 private businesses accredited with the Mayor of London’s new Good Work Standard to promote decent work in London.

Penrose Care’s ethical social care framework has garnered international acclaim, resulting in Penrose Care receiving research delegations from Canada, China, Japan, South Korea and Thailand. Penrose Care is rated Outstanding by the Care Quality Commission, the highest rating given by England’s health and social care regulator.

Penrose Care’s ethical approach promotes higher quality social care workers and low staff turnover which in turn results in excellent care. Penrose Care is headquartered in Belsize Village, north London – between Hampstead, Belsize Park and Swiss Cottage / Finchley Road – and was founded by Robert Stephenson-Padron, a healthcare research analyst, and Dr. Matthew Knight MBE, a hospital physician.

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