Workers 'stuck' on insecure zero-hours contracts for years

20 February 2024 , 00:01

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'Bad employers are parking workers on zero hours contracts for years on end,' says TUC (Image: Getty Images/Collection Mix: Subjects RF)

Hundreds of thousands of workers on zero hours contracts are "stuck" in insecure jobs, a new analysis reveals.

The Trades Union Congress (TUC) said a staggering 66% of employees on the contracts have been with their current firm for over a year. A further 12% - or one in eight - on zero-hours contracts have also been with their employer for over 10 years, the analysis finds.

The latest data shows there are 1.15 million people on these contracts while Black and minority ethnic women are nearly three times as likely to be on them as white men. The TUC argues insecure work makes it harder for workers to budget, as they struggle to know their hours and earnings from week to week.

Labour has previously given a "cast iron guarantee" the party will ban zero-hours contracts if it wins power at the general election this year. The party's New Deal for Working People will also end controversial fire and rehire practices allowing firms to sack workers and hire them back on worse terms.

TUC General Secretary Paul Nowak said: “Everyone should be treated fairly at work. But too many workers – especially Black and ethnic minority women – are trapped in low-paid jobs on zero-hours contracts, with few rights and protections and no guarantee of shifts."

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He added: "Bad employers are parking workers on zero hours contracts for years on end. It’s not right. These precarious contracts hand almost total control over workers’ hours and earning power to managers – making it nigh on impossible to plan budgets and childcare.

"Insecure work has boomed on the Conservatives’ watch over the past 14 years – with the number of workers on zero hours contracts hitting the one million mark. That’s why a ban on zero hours contracts is long overdue. Working people should have a right to a contract that reflects their regular hours of work."

A Department for Business and Trade spokesperson said: “Zero-hour contracts offer flexibility for people who may need to balance work around personal commitments whilst helping employers with less demand for permanent staff.

“We continue to tackle unfair working practices through the Workers Act, giving workers the right to make a request to their employer for a more predictable working pattern, and boosting the National Living Wage for millions of workers to £11.44 an hour.”

Ashley Cowburn