WIREDGOV

In an interim report published last week, Parliament’s Scottish Affairs Committee says there has been an ‘alarming’ increase in the use of casual labour – who are in some cases not being paid the legal minimum wage - across the UK (and in Scotland in particular) and that Government should be using all the levers at its disposal, including legislation, to change this.

The Committee says the Government’s consultation on ‘zero hours contracts’ is too narrow:  it is focused on exclusivity & transparency, but the Committee says addressing those concerns will do little to help workers who are exploited by unscrupulous employers.

• Unscrupulous employers exploiting workers through zero-hours contracts
• Zero hours contracts consultation closes with over 30,000 responses
• CIPD - Exclusivity clauses in zero hours contracts should be banned where there is no compelling business reason for their use
• TWF:  Increase in ‘zero hours contracts’ figures doesn’t necessarily represent increase in usage
• Ministers to consider outlawing exclusivity on zero hours contracts
• Acas - Zero hours contracts
• BBC:  ‘Almost 85000' workers on zero-hours contracts in Scotland
• Zero-hours contracts: understanding the law - Guides - CIPD
• Citizens Advice:  Contracts of employment - AdviceGuide
• UNISON fact sheet on zero hours contracts