It’s probably fair to say you rarely hear anything good about zero hours contracts, there is just a negative stigma attached to them. But is that fair?
Numerous surveys have been carried out into the efficacy or otherwise of this way of working, but the overwhelming sentiment seems to be unless used well and with care, they can be tricky – and often controversial – ways to employ staff.
Some argue the contracts put a big strain on both mental and physical health particularly amongst younger workers. The UK’s independent Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS) published research that reveals 3 in 5 of workers – a hefty 61% – are unaware of the rights of people on zero hours contracts.
At HR Now, we think it’s worth considering and explaining exactly what a zero-hours contract is – and to question whether they’re always the employment contract bad guy!
What are they?
Put very simply, zero hours contracts mean employers don’t have to give any minimum working hours and a worker doesn’t have to take any work offered.
From an employer’s perspective it means they can employ someone to help when they simply don’t know how much help they’ll need week to week – or sometimes day to day.
And it gives the employee the freedom to work elsewhere, carry out caring duties or limit the amount of time they want to work each week.
Zero hours contracts are often used – and can work well in:
- Bars – where extra help on busy nights can be invaluable.
- Warehouses – where unexpected stock arrivals need dealing with fast.
- Wedding event caterers – whose core business is in the summer, once bookings have been confirmed.
- Growing service businesses like nail bars where there’s too much work for one but not quite enough for two.
Zero hours contracts are not an opportunity to take advantage of an employee and employers must grant all relevant statutory employment rights to people working under these contracts including:
- Paid holiday.
- Rest breaks.
- Health and safety training and protection.
- Written contract terms.
- Protection from discrimination and.
- A right to claim parental leave.
Zero hours contracts aren’t a cop-out card by any stretch of the imagination. They shouldn’t be used to avoid an induction or probation period for example, or to get rid of someone if you decide they no longer fit the bill. But used wisely and correctly they can have untold benefits for both employer and employee by supporting an ad-hoc working relationship with a much fairer balance of power when accepting or offering work.
The other type of contract falls somewhere between zero hours and permanent, fixed term contracts, known as a Variable Hours contract. Here both employer and employee agree to a set number of working hours each week, but anything above that is entirely flexible and ad-hoc.
The Jersey Advisory and Conciliation Service (JACS) has produced a really helpful video guide to Zero Hours Contracts and of course, if you have any queries or concerns, contact us at HR Now.
Our top 5 things to remember with zero hours contracts:
- Check you have a useful and appropriate zero hours template that keeps everything clear covering statutory breaks, statutory holiday and no exclusivity clauses.
- Make sure you have an end date or review date.
- A zero hours agreement is two-way so while you can offer work for two days or for just four hours, the person might negotiate back and only agree to work a day and a half or ask for a minimum of five hours to make it worthwhile.
- If the person declines repeat offers of work on a given number of times – for example three – then a business could consider they are not really interested or available enough and decide not to give them further offers of work.
- Make sure you are using zero hours for YOUR benefit and if it isn’t right, call us to find out what will work better instead.
We’re happy to help on all your staff contracts, just give us a call on 747559 or email [email protected].
HR Now are the flexible alternative to owning or growing your own HR team, based in Jersey but working across the UK and other Crown Dependencies. They support business leaders and HR managers – from the smallest start-ups to the largest international corporations, across absolutely all sectors.
Pictured: Becky Hill, Director, HR Now.
