A boss’s ‘flexible friend’?

The number of people whose main job is on a zero hours contract may well soar to 1m by the end of the year if current trends continue, according to the latest figures released on Wednesday (March 9).

 
Even as the government has crowed about falling unemployment, the number of workers on contracts with no guaranteed minimum hours have skyrocketed year on year, leaping by more than 100,000 to 801,000 last year.

 
The total number of these insecure contracts – which empower employers to circumvent making pensions contributions and offering sick and holiday pay enjoyed by regular employees and agency workers – has reached a peak of 1.7m.

 
This suggests that many workers are relying on more than one zero hours contract job just to make ends meet.

 
Proponents of zero hours contracts have long said that they offer “flexibility”, but research has shown that many workers are unhappy with their current arrangements – nearly 40 per cent of workers on zero hours contracts want to be offered more work, compared to only 10 per cent of other workers.

 
One in six had received no work in the week that they had been interviewed.

 
Zero hours contracts first appeared on the scene when the recession hit, and some experts predicted that they would become less common once the economy picked up again.

Permanent feature?
But the latest data from the Office of National Statistics shows that the contracts may in fact become a permanent feature of an economy dominated by insecure work.

 
They’ve become particularly dense among groups of people who are already often exploited in work.
Nearly 40 per cent of the contracts are held by young people aged 16 to 24. They’re disproportionately given to women, as well as to workers in sectors such as hospitality, food services and social work, where pay is low and bargaining power is weak.

 
Pay for those on zero hours contracts is dismal compared to those on permanent contracts – according to TUC research, the average weekly earnings for zero-hours workers was only £188, while for permanent workers this figure quadrupled to £479.

 
Nearly 40 per cent of zero-hours workers earn less than ÂŁ111 a week, the minimum threshold for statutory sick pay.

 
Zero-hours contracts are the working arrangement of choice among large employers known for their exploitative work practices.

 
The vast majority of workers employed by Sports Direct, which has come under fire for abusive practices, are on zero-hours contracts.

 
In fact, the sports retail giant’s boss Mike Ashley has been threatened with contempt of Parliament for failing to appear before MPs to answer questions about the way his company treats its workers.

At bosses’ mercy
TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady argued that zero hours contracts put all the power in the hands of bosses, whose workers are at their mercy.

 
“Zero-hour contracts may be a dream for cost-cutting employers,” she said. “But they can be a nightmare for workers.

 
“Many people on zero-hours contracts are unable to plan for their future and regularly struggle with paying bills and having a decent family life,” she added.

 
“The so-called ‘flexibility’ these contracts offer is far too one-sided. Staff without guaranteed pay have much less power to stand up for their rights and often feel afraid to turn down shifts in case they fall out of favour with their boss.

 
“The European Union is proposing better rights for zero-hours workers – another reason why workers should be worried about the risks of Brexit,” she added.

 
The government has noted that they’ve regulated zero-hours contracts by banning “exclusivity clauses” last year, which meant that employers could no longer hinder zero-hours workers from working for other employers.

New Zealand says no
But in New Zealand, the government has just moved to approve legislation this week (March 7) that will ban zero-hours contracts in their entirety.

 
A Labour amendment to the Employment Standards Bill there will mean that from April 1, employers must guarantee a minimum number of hours each week, and workers can refuse to take on extra hours without being penalised.

 
Unite assistant general secretary Steve Turner slammed the UK government for presiding over an economy that’s created an increasingly insecure workforce desperate to feed their families.

 
“Under this government the world of work is becoming less secure with increasing numbers of people trying to eke out a living not knowing one day to the next if they have work,” he said.

 
“Far from being a ‘flexible’ choice for workers, zero hours contracts put all the power in the hands of the employer and are increasingly becoming the only form of work open to young people.

 
“This ‘treat them mean, keep them keen’ form of employment leaves people at the whim of their employer and unable to plan for the future, rent a home or get a mortgage.

 
“Everyone deserves decent work and the dignity and security of knowing how much they will earn from one week to the next,” Turner added.

“This government has repeatedly crowed about the falls in unemployment, but what it never mentions is the type of precarious, insecure work and falling wages it has overseen.

 
“The government needs to tackle the growing crisis of insecure employment by following the lead of governments like New Zealand in banning zero hours contracts.”