Zero Hours Contracts - What's all the fuss about

What is a zero hours contract
A zero hours contract is where an employee is retained on a contract of employment but is not guaranteed any actual hours of work by his employer. This means that the employer has flexibility in when he calls upon the services of the employee.

What about the employee
The employee may also benefit from such a contract. A student, retired person or housewife may welcome the flexibility of working when and if they choose. However, some zero hours contracts require the employee to be available to work for the employer during certain hours, which is clearly a step too far. This can lead to an employee turning down other work only to sit at home awaiting their employer's call only to receive no such call and therefore no income for that day.

How did such contracts come about
The truth is that this type of contract has been around for many years and has been commonly used in the food business as well as in tourism. A restaurant for example may have a very quiet day and will want to therefore have the flexibility to send staff home or to ask staff not to come in. Similarly, a theme park or tourist attraction will require far more staff when the weather is good and will also want the flexibility to have less staff working if circumstances and the British weather dictates.

What therefore is the issue
The controversy with such contracts is that they have now been adopted as the norm by many national firms and companies on the high street. It is arguable that many of these companies do not need and cannot justify such contracts. However, they merely use them as they provide the absolute minimum in employment rights to staff and you can in essence achieve a workforce of agency staff without the costs involved in recruiting via an agency. 

Should such contracts be outlawed
In our view no. However, they should be used far less than they actually are and an employer should have to justify their use if required to do so.

This blog is designed to share our views on zero hours contracts. It is not intended as legal advice and should not be read as. If you wish to discuss zero hours contracts or indeed any employment law issue then please call us on 01582 439795.

Our website is www.chilternsolicitors.co.uk or follow us on twitter @chilternsols.