WIREDGOV

Commenting on yesterday’s (Thursday) ONS figures on zero-hours contracts, TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady yesterday said:

“Today’s figures show that without government action, zero-hours contracts will remain a reality for many people.

“While it’s good that some companies are moving away from using them, there are a staggering 1.7 million zero-hours contracts still in use.

“Let’s not pretend that life at the sharp end of the labour market is getting easier. There is growing evidence of firms employing staff on short-hours contracts to avoid the bad PR associated with zero-hours jobs.

“These contracts guarantee as little as one hour a week, and like zero-hours contracts place workers at the beck and call of their bosses.

“Every party manifesto must have real commitments to crack down on zero-hours contracts and other forms of insecure work.”

The TUC is calling for:

• People working regular hours to have a right to a guaranteed-hours contract.
• People on variable-hours contracts to get overtime pay for hours outside of their contracts.
• All workers to have a right to a written statement of terms, conditions and working hours, from day one.
• Everyone at work to get the same rights as an employee, unless the employer can show that they are genuinely self-employed.
• Agency workers should be entitled to the going rate for the job, on an equal basis with directly-employed workers.

Notes to Editors:

• All TUC press releases can be found at tuc.org.uk/media
• TUC Press Office on Twitter: @tucnews

Contacts:

Press Office  T: 020 7467 1248  E: media@tuc.org.uk
Alex Rossiter  T: 020 7467 1285  M: 07887 572130  E: arossiter@tuc.org.uk
Tim Nichols  T: 020 7467 1388  M: 07808 761844  E: tnichols@tuc.org.uk
Elly Gibson (Mon to Thurs) T: 020 7467 1337  M: 07900 910624  E: egibson@tuc.org.uk
Michael Pidgeon  T: 020 7467 1372  M: 07717 531150  E: mpidgeon@tuc.org.uk