TUC and Work Foundation urge new PM to “keep going” on guaranteed hours rights and deliver “at pace and in full”

• Statement comes as Lancaster University’s Work Foundation release a stark new report which shines a light on the impact of zero-hour contracts on workers

The TUC and Work Foundation have today (Monday) said that the new prime minister must keep going on its efforts to ban exploitative zero hours contracts and deliver guaranteed hours rights at pace and in full.

The government has committed to banning exploitative zero hours contracts through the Employment Rights Act, and is currently consulting on delivering rights to a contract which reflect a worker’s regular hours.

The TUC warns that listening to some of the “bad faith scaremongering” on guaranteed hours could leave many workers still facing insecurity – simply raising the floor from zero hours and creating a new race to the bottom where employers offer contracts which reflect an inadequate new legal minimum. 

The union body and Work Foundation says delivering these new rights to guaranteed hours is vital to “take on” the broken status quo as the number of workers on zero hours contracts is at a record high of 1.24 million.

New flagship report

The statement comes as the Work Foundation release a major new report, commissioned by the TUC, which gives fresh insight into the daily reality of life on insecure contracts through extensive in-depth digital diaries from a carefully selected sample that reflects the sectoral, regional, age and gender composition of zero hours workers nationally.  

The Work Foundation at Lancaster University conducted in depth qualitative research with zero hours workers from up and down Britain who rely on zero-hour contracts as their main source of income.

Analysis by the Work Foundation indicates that a record number of zero-hour contract workers depend on their zero-hour contract for full-time work (32.8%) and are not in full-time education (77%).

All of workers who participated in this study were aged 25+, the age cohort which comprises more than 60% of zero-hour contract workers.

The group of participants comprised of five workers in hospitality, two workers in health and social care, one worker in arts and entertainment and one worker in education.

Nightmare for workers

The Work Foundation report lifts the lid on exploitative practices which zero hours contracts allow, and the devastating impact the contracts can have on workers lives. Key themes from the report revealed: 

• Work life chaos: Zero-hour contracts are often touted as a flexible form of employment that enable people to fit work around their other responsibilities. In practice, the lack of guaranteed hours and shift patterns made the lives of the workers chaotic and hard to manage. Given the lack of guaranteed hours or shifts, workers dedicated a substantial amount of time to finding shifts and organising their working week. Workers also regularly experienced last minute shift cancellations, call-ins to work and changes to the timings of their shifts.
• One-sided flexibility: The diaries revealed that the ‘flexibility’ of zero-hour contracts disproportionately benefitted their employers. Employers often took no notice of workers’ prior commitments, such as childcare, when allocating shifts. They also expected their zero-hour contract staff to be available for work at any time and to organise their lives around shifts that could be cancelled at a moment’s notice. Meanwhile the workers had limited control over their own shift patterns. Many also expressed concerns that if they turned down work they would be passed over for future shifts.
• Physical and mental toll of insecure work: Many involved in the study reported anxiety or stress associated with the insecurity of their work and the need to closely manage their shifts. Workers also regularly discussed how the unpredictability of their shift patterns left them feeling burnt out and unable to get enough sleep or eat healthily. Several also described going into work whilst ill or being unable to take time off to care for dependents, with one participant reporting they had previously been hospitalised after putting off medical appointments due to work pressures.
• Parenthood penalty: Parents reported paying for childcare only to have their shift moved or cancelled at the last minute, leaving them to foot an unnecessary childcare bill. Some noted that the cost of childcare outstripped wages, so paying for a babysitter meant effectively working for free. Nurseries are often unable to accommodate last minute changes to the schedules of parents on zero-hours contracts, leaving many reliant on family members.

Overall, the report found workers on zero hours face unpredictable work and income:

• Over half of the workers were asked to end shifts early, resulting in lost pay
• A third experienced shift cancellations
• A third received less than 24 hours’ notice of shifts or shift changes
• Almost half were required to work beyond scheduled hours, and some weren't even paid for it
• All were worried about finances due to inconsistent income.

It also found workers facing pressure and lack of control:

• Over half felt pressure to accept as many shifts as possible to secure future work
• More than a fifth had to turn down work because of childcare constraints
• More than two thirds said instability made their lives difficult to organise
• More than two thirds experienced anxiety, stress or worry linked to their zero-hours contract
• Nearly all said unpredictable work patterns negatively affected relationships with loved ones

Poor management practices

The Work Foundation report also shows that as well as punishing workers – zero hours contracts allow managers to engage in unprofessional practices and act poorly towards their staff. 

The TUC and Work Foundation says this evidence points to insecure work holding back the economy and productivity. 

In several cases, participants reported that employers engaged in poor workforce scheduling practices, operating a ‘just in time’ shift management model. 

This regularly resulted in under or over staffing, which was ‘corrected’ at the final moment through last minute shifts, cancellations or curtailments. One worker reported that they had previously experienced being sent home after ten minutes on shift.                                      

Some of the workers suggested that employers transferred the responsibility for managing shifts onto their staff. For example, during the diary week two participants were told management had overallocated for the shift and participants were expected to negotiate with their colleagues who should have to leave early, with pay lost.               

Ben Harrison, Director of the Work Foundation at Lancaster University said:

“The experiences of zero-hour contract workers underline how one sided the flexibility that they offer can be. By their very nature, they bake uncertainty and precarity into the working lives of those who rely on them, which has significant consequences for their financial and mental wellbeing.

"In particular, this new evidence shows how zero-hour contracts leave workers highly vulnerable to late changes and cancellations of their shifts. This can make it extremely difficult to plan for day to day expenses like childcare, and for long-term financial commitments like renting or buying a home.

“Government must now deliver on its commitment to end exploitative zero-hour contracts by giving workers at least 28 days’ notice of shifts, ensuring full pay for late cancellations, and putting strong enforcement behind the new reforms.”

TUC General Secretary Paul Nowak said: 

“Zero hours contracts are a dream for bad bosses and a nightmare for workers. 

“This research shows just how difficult it is to get by, and to plan your life, on these exploitative contracts. 

“The contracts also make it harder to raise issues with your boss due to power imbalances. 

“And not just that – they encourage poor management practices which are bad for workers and bad for the wider economy.

“That’s why the new prime minister must take on the broken status quo and put an end to exploitative zero hours contracts by delivering these new rights to guaranteed hours at pace and in full.”