Workers ‘caught’ on insecure zero-hours contracts for years

Hundreds of 1000’s of staff on zero hours contracts are “stuck” in insecure jobs, a brand new evaluation reveals.

The Trades Union Congress (TUC) mentioned a staggering 66% of workers on the contracts have been with their present agency for over a yr. An additional 12% – or one in eight – on zero-hours contracts have additionally been with their employer for over 10 years, the evaluation finds.

The newest knowledge exhibits there are 1.15 million individuals on these contracts whereas Black and minority ethnic ladies are almost 3 times as prone to be on them as white males. The TUC argues insecure work makes it more durable for staff to price range, as they wrestle to know their hours and earnings from week to week.

Labour has beforehand given a “cast iron guarantee” the get together will ban zero-hours contracts if it wins energy on the normal election this yr. The get together’s New Deal for Working People may even finish controversial hearth and rehire practices permitting corporations to sack staff and rent them again on worse phrases.

TUC General Secretary Paul Nowak mentioned: “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.”

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.”