The Court of Appeal has decided that a period of downtime where the worker remains at the employer's disposal cannot be a rest break (Gallagher and Others v Alpha Catering Services Limited) (see [2005] Gazette, 3 March, 27).


Now that downtime has been established as working time, perhaps it is appropriate to ask again why duty solicitors are expected to be on call for a rate of pay substantially below the statutory minimum wage?


Geyve Walker, Arnison & Co, Penrith, Cumbria