header-logo header-logo

Zero tolerance

05 September 2013 / Sarah Johnson
Issue: 7574 / Categories: Opinion , Employment
printer mail-detail
nlj_7574_06_0

Should we call time on zero hours contracts, asks Sarah Johnson

Zero hours contracts hit the headlines recently with calls for a ban from some unions. Why all the fuss?

Increasing numbers is one reason. Around one million people in the UK (3–4% of the labour force) now work on zero hours contracts, according to research by the Chartered Institute of Personnel Development (CIPD); about four times more than recent figures from the Office for National Statistics suggested. Although increasingly common, there is some uncertainty about what they are.

What is a zero hours contract?

Zero hours contracts have no strict legal definition. Those working under them may be employees, workers or self-employed. Legal status depends on how the relationship works. Key features are that the individual can be called upon as required, with no set hours, being paid only for work done.

Employment status requires mutuality of obligation (the employer’s obligation to offer work and the employee’s to accept it). Contract wording is not conclusive; tribunals scrutinise how things work in practice if

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Birketts—trainee cohort

Birketts—trainee cohort

Firm welcomes new cohort of 29 trainee solicitors for 2025

Keoghs—four appointments

Keoghs—four appointments

Four partner hires expand legal expertise in Scotland and Northern Ireland

Brabners—Ben Lamb

Brabners—Ben Lamb

Real estate team in Yorkshire welcomes new partner

NEWS
Robert Taylor of 360 Law Services warns in this week's NLJ that adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) risks entrenching disadvantage for SME law firms, unless tools are tailored to their needs
From oligarchs to cosmetic clinics, strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) target journalists, activists and ordinary citizens with intimidating legal tactics. Writing in NLJ this week, Sadie Whittam of Lancaster University explores the weaponisation of litigation to silence critics
Delays and dysfunction continue to mount in the county court, as revealed in a scathing Justice Committee report and under discussion this week by NLJ columnist Professor Dominic Regan of City Law School. Bulk claims—especially from private parking firms—are overwhelming the system, with 8,000 cases filed weekly
Writing in NLJ this week, Thomas Rothwell and Kavish Shah of Falcon Chambers unpack the surprise inclusion of a ban on upwards-only rent reviews in the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill
Charles Pigott of Mills & Reeve charts the turbulent progress of the Employment Rights Bill through the House of Lords, in this week's NLJ
back-to-top-scroll