A zero hours contract is… Often a casual agreement between an employer and an individual. The employer offers the individual work with no guarantee of the number of hours they will work. This ‘ad hoc’ offer can be accepted or declined by the individual. The only legal constraint is that the employer MUST pay the individual at least the minimum wage. This does not affect the self-employed status of an individual. The individual’s employment rights An individual on a zero hours contract will enjoy the same rights as an employee or worker. This means they will be entitled to at least the National Minimum Wage and paid annual leave. They will also receive rest breaks and protection from discrimination. There are no exceptions to this rule. Where / when can zero hours contracts work? Zero hours contracts can benefit both the employer and the individual. They can provide the flexibility needed for some temporary and irregular jobs. But it can also provide the same flexibility for an individual needing time to study or for childcare. Examples of acceptable zero hours contracts include New Businesses / New Service / Seasonal Work / Unexpected sickness / Special events / etc. However, zero […]
The problem We were approached by an employer in the food preparation industry employing 23 staff. They had no contracts of employment in place and only a few policies and procedures. The employer had a number of problems He was struggling to get staff to be flexible enough to work the overtime needed to meet sudden peaks in order levels. He had previously not hit deadlines and incurred contractual penalties because of his inability to staff the shifts needed. The employer was frustrated about a significant lost time issue which was costing him nearly £30 000 a year. He had worked out that he could have employed another 2 employees with this wasted money. Or taken more money out of the business for himself. Staff were arriving for work at the start time of their shift. They then took up to twenty minutes to get changed into their protective clothing. He calculated that this was costing him nearly 2000 hours a year of unproductive time that he was paying for. At the other end of the day, staff were downing tools between 15 and 20 minutes before their shift ended to get changed. They would then stand around ready to clock out […]
