The Government made an announcement that they will be clamping down on the use of zero hours contracts and putting an outright ban on the use of exclusivity clauses within these contracts in the Small Businesses Bill which will be pushed through before the general election in 2015.
The term zero hours is not defined in legislation but is generally understood to be an employment contract between an employer and a worker, which means the employer is not obliged to provide the worker with any minimum working hours and the worker is not obliged to accept any of the hours offered. This gives the employer the benefit of a flexible workforce, which can be an invaluable advantage where business needs can fluctuate throughout the year.
These contracts will usually give the member of staff worker status and zero hour workers have the same employment rights as regular workers, although these rights may not accrue in the same way as a regular worker due to breaks in the contract. Zero hours workers are entitled to annual leave, the National Minimum Wage and pay for work-related travel in the same way as regular workers.
Their use has become commonplace in a number of organisations since the start of the recession with latest figures from the Office of National Statistics showing that 1.4 million people are working under zero hours contracts in the UK.
Business Secretary Vince Cable announced plans to ban exclusivity clauses in zero hour contracts that prevent casual employees from working for another company despite the worker not being given any minimum number of hours. However, among the hyperbole, it should be remembered that zero hours contracts themselves will not be banned, with Mr Cable commenting that these serve the interests of students, older workers and single parents who value flexibility.
Mr Cable has said, "It has become clear that some unscrupulous employers abuse the flexibility that these contracts offer to the detriment of their workers."
According to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, the ban should allow around 125,000 workers who are bound by exclusivity clauses to seek extra work which will increase their income and ensure that those working on zero hours contracts are aware of their rights.
Frances O'Grady, the TUC general secretary, said: ?The ban is welcome news but it's not nearly enough to really tackle the problem. The one change that would really make a difference would be for employers to have to guarantee their staff a minimum number of paid hours each week.
