'It's abhorrent they're still allowed': Why zero-hours contracts must be made a thing of the past

“At one workplace I put in a formal grievance about the way I was being treated. My hours were immediately cut to zero.”

Fraser McGuire, 20, is one of more than a million workers in the UK on zero-hours contracts, which come with no guarantee of hours and are widely seen as exploitative. He’s had these types of arrangements at jobs across construction and hospitality in the East Midlands.

“There’s been times [at other workplaces] where I had 50 hours one week and then 10 the next,” he told the Big Issue.

“Zero-hours contracts create a power imbalance with your employer that then makes every aspect of work more difficult. Your hours for the next week depend entirely on them so obviously you feel compelled to do stuff you don’t want or even have to do. It’s so hard to stand up for yourself because you don’t want to rock the boat – your hours could go from 40 to five.“

Supporters of zero-hour work say it offers flexibility to both worker and employer, but McGuire says that’s not the reality. “That overlooks the informal nature of it,” he added. “If you challenge something you don’t think is right or say you can’t come in, that might be the last time you get offered any shifts full stop.”

McGuire says this type of precarious work – not knowing how many hours you’ll have next week, or how much you’ll be getting paid – creates stress, damages social relationships and can impact on your ability to pass credit checks needed for housing.

As part of our Blueprint for Change, the Big Issue is calling on the new government to increase job security within its first 12 months to stop stuff like this happening. We want whoever is in charge to finally reform zero-hours contracts.

Labour, which is way ahead in the polls, has promised to do this as part of its ‘new deal for workers’. But after repeatedly pledging to ban zero-hours contracts altogether, the party last month rowed back, saying workers will be able to stay on zero-hours agreements if they choose to.

While some unions are on board with the changes, others are less impressed. Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said the pledge has been “watered down to almost nothing”.

The IWGB, which represents gig economy workers, and Zero Hours Justice, a campaign group fighting to abolish zero-hours contracts, both said any weaknesses or loopholes in the law can be taken advantage of by employers. 

“When wages are so low and the cost of living is so high, people are forced to take any work they can get,” said Zero Hours Justice director Jessie Hoskin. “Zero-hours contracts don’t offer choice and we know they don’t offer mutual flexibility. We have to push back on the any legislation that allows businesses the opportunity to exploit loopholes.”

McGuire, a branch officer with union Unite Hospitality, also called Labour’s move “disappointing”.

“The idea that it’s radical to ban one of the most exploitative types of contract in the country shows Labour is siding with businesses over workers,” he said. “We have such massively eroded workers’ rights in this country that even a slight improvement is seen as an attack on business.”

Businesses, meanwhile, are not happy with Labour’s watered-down pledge for the opposite reason, arguing curbs on zero-hours contracts could create a “substantial additional workload”.

Many countries have either banned zero-hours contracts or heavily regulated them, including New Zealand, Italy, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Ireland, Finland and Norway.

Here in the UK, however, things have been moving in the opposite direction. A record 1.1 million workers are now on zero-hours contracts, with most lacking regular pay and employee protection, according to a March study by Lancaster University’s Work Foundation think tank.

Its analysis suggests 136,000 more workers were given zero-hours contracts in 2023 than in 2022, and 65% of these were handed to 16- to 24-year-olds (88,000). What’s more, three in four (73.5%) are in ‘severely insecure’ work, meaning they face contractual and financial insecurity, and a lack of access to rights and protections. Only 6.1% of the 1.1 million are in ‘secure employment’, with a regular income and access to rights. And the study shows it is young women in particular who are bearing the brunt of the severely insecure work. 

A 20-year-old woman, who has worked zero-hours contracts in customer service roles, told the Big Issue: “It is abhorrent that it’s still allowed in this country.” She said “quiet firing” – where a worker is treated badly to encourage them to leave – is common for anyone who challenges exploitative bosses.

“[Employers] can use the threat of not having hours to make you work ridiculous hours – late nights and early mornings,” she said.

Her union Unite Hospitality is now calling time on zero-hours contracts, with project worker Kevin Reynolds telling the Big Issue: “They create a massive precarity of inconsistent earnings and an inability for workers to plan any element of their lives. If this wasn’t enough, we know that workers who raise legitimate grievances in the workplace or try to encourage colleagues to join a union simply end up being given no hours of work. These Victorian practices should have ended years ago.“

In line with Labour’s plans, the Work Foundation says all workers should have a right to guaranteed hours and more predictable shift patterns, while being able to opt in to zero-hour work if they request it.

The think tank’s head of research Alice Martin said: “After a decade of indecision over zero-hours contracts, the UK has fallen behind and now our younger generation are paying the price. Other nations have already either banned zero-hours contracts or heavily regulated their use, so we need to catch up and find a better balance between workplace security and flexibility.”

Another of the Big Issue’s demands is for the new government to strengthen employment rights from day one on the job.

Under a law brought in by the Conservatives in April, workers do have the right to request flexible working from day one on the job. But employers can turn these requests down for a whole host of reasons.

Labour has promised to make “flexible working the default from day one for all workers, except where it is not reasonably feasible”.

Charity Work Rights Centre, which helps migrants and disadvantaged Brits access employment justice and improve their social mobility, wants to see other workers’ rights issues addressed.

Its senior research and policy officer Adis Sehic said: “Few people realise that unless they have two years of continuous service with their employer, they aren’t protected against unfair dismissal. We’ve seen clients sacked in the 23rd month of their job, so the employer can avoid these greater protections.

“All workers must be given protection from unfair dismissal from day one to redress the power imbalance between workers and employers. When job cuts are made, migrants and people of colour are often the first to go, but face additional barriers – including visa requirements and racism – to finding new work. Protection from unfair dismissal would ensure millions of workers have job security from the get-go.”