Zero Hours Contracts
Submitted by claudiaobrien on Wed, 01/07/2015 - 03:53
But what are they?The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (2013) defines ZHCs as; “An employment contract in which an employer does not guarantee the individual any work, and the individual is not obliged to accept any work offered”. The individual works only when needed by the employer, and often at short notice. While in theory the worker is entitled to reject work, in reality it is likely that this would often lead to discrimination or termination of employment. And here lies the heart of the issue – flexibility for the employer, and insecurity for the worker. The majority of those on ZHCs will be classified as ‘workers’ so will be entitled to basic employment rights (minimum wage, working time, health and safety protections), but are prevented from acquiring significant protection against dismissal by the operation of outdated rules on continuity of employment. Equally there is evidence that many on these contracts are not informed of the nature of their contract or basic employment provisions, so for example their holiday pay – a statutory right – goes untaken. Most ZHC workers are on the minimum wage (currently £6.50).
Extending Rights for Workers
By Andrew James, Solicitor
Much has been reported in recent months about the inequity of zero hours contracts (ZHCs). ZHCs are quite rightly seen as a form of employment relationship which leaves workers open to abuse and exploitation. Indeed, such contracts are often used as a conscious long term strategy by businesses to cut costs… News and Comment
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Re-regulating Zero Hours Contracts By Zoe Adams and Simon DeakinThe current debate over zero hours contracts is generating more heat than light. The authors of this report point to rigidities in employment law and the operation of the tax-benefit system as being responsible for the rise in zero hours contracting. The ban on so-called exclusivity clauses is a red herring. Instead the authors propose reforms based on European examples including the reform of the UK’s archaic rules on continuity of employment; changes to the benefit system, which currently encourage employers to offer short-hours, low-waged work and force individuals into accepting such work or lose benefits; and better use of new EU procurement laws which increase the scope for social issues to be taken into account when awarding public contracts.  Sports Direct; A case in pointThe use of ZHCs by sport and clothing giant Sports Direct International epitomises the malpractice that ZHCs make possible. The company (as well as a host of others like Amazon, McDonalds, Dominos) employs the vast majority of its employees on poor pay with no employment benefits while profits and share prices soar.
The TUC report The Decent Jobs Deficit – The Human Cost of Zero-Hours Working in the UK stresses the need for better access to union representation and collective bargaining if we are to curtail ZHCs. Keith Ewing and John Hendy explain what collective bargaining is, and why we need it here.
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Zero Hours Contracts and InequalityA major study conducted by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) had found that the rise in in self-employment, temporary and part-time jobs over the past two decades has been a key factor in the rise of inequality.
“In the six years since the global economic crisis, standard jobs were destroyed while part-time employment continued to increase…Non-standard workers are worse off in terms of many aspects of job quality. They tend to receive less training and, in addition, those on temporary contracts have more job strain and have less job security than workers in standard jobs. Earnings levels are also lower in terms of annual and hourly wages – OECD”
 Trade Unions and Economic InequalityBy Dr Lydia Hayes and Professor Tonia Novitz Lydia Hayes and Tonia Novitz begin by recoding the consistent popularity of trade unions. And yet, despite this popularity, trade union membership has declined and the number of workers who currently have their terms and conditions of work negotiated by a trade union has fallen dramatically. This decline is thanks to thanks to trade union laws which inhibit trade union recruitment, activity and collective bargaining and attacks on trade union activities by politicians and misrepresentation in the media. The result has been a dramatic increase in levels of economic inequality, reflected in the fact that income differences between top earners and those on the lowest wages are now higher than at any time since records began. The UK now ranks as one of the most unequal societies in the developed world and, according to the authors, current levels of inequality have far exceeded the point at which inequality is proven to be socially corrosive.
“We cannot build a secure recovery off the back of zero-hours contracts and weaker employment rights. If we don’t create more decent jobs inequality will continue to soar and the economy risks running out of steam” – Frances O’Grady”
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