WIREDGOV

A coalition of the Trades Union Congress, 38 Degrees, Child Poverty Action Group, Women’s Budget Group, Young Women’s Trust, Fawcett Society, Timewise and Work Foundation has today (Wednesday) told the government that it must stand firm on its manifesto commitment to ban zero hours contracts and ensure workers have a right to guaranteed hours. 

• TUC, Child Poverty Action Group, Fawcett Society, Timewise, Women’s Budget Group, the Work Foundation and Young Women’s Trust urge government to stamp out zero hours contracts and deliver secure contracts for workers across the country 
• Warning comes in response to business calls on government to water down new protections in advance of the consultation on guaranteed hours.
• Campaigners say that “thorough and comprehensive” legislation is needed to ensure all low-paid and insecure workers benefit from new rights to regular hours, notice of shifts and payment for cancelled shifts.

The message comes after some business groups called on government to row back on delivering these new rights. 

Campaigners say ministers should “ignore the noise” and warn rowing back would mean low-paid and insecure work continued to blight our economy. 

As part of its Plan to Make Work Pay and deliver on measures in the Employment Rights Act, the government committed to offering all workers a right to a contract which reflects their regular hours, and giving every worker notice of their shifts and compensation for cancelled shifts.

By campaigning to water down key rights, the TUC says business groups are defending the broken status quo which has failed to deliver for workers and the wider economy.

Eligibility for a guaranteed hours contract

The government is due to launch a consultation on the maximum number of contracted hours a worker can have before losing entitlement to a contract that reflects their regular hours, as well as shift notice and compensation for cancelled work. 

Unions and campaigners are calling for rules that protect all workers from exploitation – not just those on very low hours.

As well as rights to guaranteed hours, this must include a 12 week reference period and agency workers must be in scope.

The TUC and campaigners warn that failing to get this right could leave many workers low-paid and insecure – simply raising the floor slightly from zero hours and creating a new race to the bottom where employers offer contracts which reflect a legal minimum of very low hours. 

The TUC says that  if the policy is not implemented in full, workers will face distorted shift allocations - employers would be incentivised to deny additional hours to the workers with the lowest hours in case they triggered their right to secure hours.

The union body adds that warnings from employers’ organisations that rogue businesses will resort to bogus self employment rather than give guaranteed hours, should reinforce the need to take on those intent on protecting the broken status quo.

Balance of power

Campaigners warn that without action power imbalances in the workplace risk becoming further entrenched.

Many workers do not know how much they will earn each week, and lack of security over hours makes it hard for workers to plan their lives, budget and look after their children.

Insecure work also makes it harder for workers to challenge unacceptable behaviour by bosses because of concerns about whether they will be penalised by not being allocated hours in future. 

The media report alleged widespread sexual harassment and bullying at McDonald’s – where 9 in 10 workers are on a zero hours contract – was a stark reminder of how insecure work and workplace abuses can go hand in hand, the TUC says.

BME workers and women are affected most. Women, especially BME women, are more likely to be stuck on insecure zero-hours contracts.

Huge public support

Delivering guaranteed hours contracts is hugely popular right across the political spectrum, including with Reform voters:

Seven in ten (72%) of UK voters support this policy – including: 

• Two-thirds of Reform and Tory voters from the 2024 general election. 
• And the figure is even higher for those saying they would now vote Conservative (82%) and Reform (83%).

Only 15% of voters across the board oppose it.

TUC General Secretary Paul Nowak said:

“Let’s be clear.  Workers should have a contract that reflects the hours they actually work.

“That’s why unions, leading women’s and child poverty campaigners and academics have come together to call on the government to stick to its guns on delivering new rights to secure contracts..

“It’s essential that all workers benefit and that agency workers are included too.. 

”Business groups calling on the government to row back on its promises are defending the broken status quo. But this failed approach has left millions without security, not knowing how much they’ll be earning from week to week. 

“Ministers must ignore the noise and crack on with delivering new rights to guaranteed hours to end the scourge of insecure work for good.”

“We can’t continue to allow low-paid and insecure work continue to blight our economy. It’s bad for our economy and bad for workers.”

Matthew McGregor, 38 Degrees CEO:

“For too long, workers have been forced to earn their way on insecure and uncertain zero hours contracts which leave them worrying about how much they'll be able to earn, and when they'll be expected to work. It's unfair for workers and makes life hard for families. That's why Labour promised change in their election manifesto. Workers now expect change they were promised, not change with carve outs, exceptions and loopholes. The government doesn't just have a mandate to deliver but a duty. They should stand strong against the lobbyists and special interests and deliver the change workers voted for.”

Alison Garnham, Chief Exec of CPAG, said:

"All too often working parents find themselves without enough to make ends meet - as their hours are cut at a moment's notice or pay for childcare only to find their shifts are cancelled.

“These new rights could be a key tool in the fight against child poverty, giving parents the secure hours and notice of shifts they need. As part of its moral mission to reduce child poverty, now is the time for government to implement these rights fully and effectively.”

Penny East, Chief Executive of Fawcett Society, said:

“Women are more likely to take on part-time, low-paid, or insecure work to balance caregiving responsibilities. This affects their earning potential, often trapping them in lower-paying roles and widens the gender pay gap. 

“The right to certainty over hours is essential for women’s income, particularly for women who are impacted by the motherhood pay penalty, and especially for black and minoritised mothers who are impacted by the ethnicity pay gap. We urge the government to apply strong protections for all workers.”

 Tess Lanning, Director of Programmes, Timewise, said: 

 “Volatile and unpredictable schedules make it hard for people to manage work alongside the normal pressures of modern life, from health needs to parenting, caring and study. 

“Measures to tackle these problems should be welcomed - and the government must ensure that they support as many people as possible without setting an artificial threshold.

“Our work with employers in frontline sectors including health, social care, retail, leisure, education and transport show that action to support greater predictability and control over shift patterns not only helps more people to stay in work and progress, but can also improve recruitment, absence and retention for businesses.”

Erin Mansell, Interim Deputy Director of Women’s Budget Group, said,

“We welcome the Government’s recognition that secure, predictable hours are essential to tackling insecure work, in-work poverty and the gender pay gap. 

“Uncertainty over hours means uncertainty over pay – and that disproportionately widens gender and earnings gaps and makes it harder to juggle paid work with caring responsibilities. The Government must strengthen - not dilute - its plans.”

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

“A record 1.23 million zero-hour contract workers in the UK are unsure how many hours they will work or how much money they will earn next week. That's why the introduction of new regulations in the Employment Rights Act that provide workers with a right to guarantee hours is so important. 

"Any delays to these reforms will mean continued insecurity for zero-hour contract workers in the UK. And if the changes simply lead to zero-hour contracts being replaced by 'low-hours contracts', many vulnerable workers will still be left without predictable income or security. Treating low-hours contracts as an acceptable alternative would be a major row back from the ambition to end exploitative zero-hour working. It could also add unnecessary complexity while creating perverse incentives for unscrupulous employers to withhold hours so that key rights never kick in."

Katharine Sacks-Jones, CEO, Young Women’s Trust, says:

“We must be clear that weakening commitments would have a gendered impact by leaving thousands of young women – who are more likely to be in part-time work - completely unprotected from exploitative zero hours contracts. 

“Young women tell us repeatedly that they're struggling to plan their finances from week to week; they're wasting money they don’t have on childcare for shifts that are then cancelled; and they're exposed to sexual harassment and bullying at work that they can’t speak up against in case they lose their hours. 

“The Employment Rights Act promised to restore some basic dignity and security to those workers most in need of it. We urge the government to hold true to the ambition and purpose of this legislation.”

Notes to Editors:

• About the TUC: The Trades Union Congress (TUC) exists to make the working world a better place for everyone. We bring together the 5.3 million working people who make up our 47 member unions. We support unions to grow and thrive, and we stand up for everyone who works for a living.

Contacts:

TUC press office 
media@tuc.org.uk  
020 7467 1248