Later today the Office for
National Statistics (ONS) is expected to revise its estimate of the number of
people on zero-hours contracts, with some reports suggesting that the figures
could increase to almost a million.
The TUC is concerned that many
workers on these type of contracts are poorly paid, have no regular income and
are at risk of exploitation. The TUC wants the government to clamp down on the
abuse of the zero-hours contracts by bad employers.
Recent TUC analysis of the ONS
labour force survey found that the average hourly wage for a worker on a
zero-hours contract was £8.83 an hour – a third less than the
average for staff on permanent contracts (£13.39).
The report found that the
majority (57.6 per cent) of workers on zero-hours contracts outside London
earned less than the living wage of £7.65 an hour, while more than
three-quarters of those working in the capital earned less than the London
living wage of £8.80 an hour.
The report also found that
workers on zero-hours contracts were nearly six times as likely to have
differing amounts of weekly pay compared to staff with other kinds of work
arrangements. Two in five zero-hours workers reported having no usual amount of
pay. This lack of regular hours and income makes it difficult for families to
budget and organise childcare, says the TUC.
Young people are finding it
particularly difficult to secure permanent employment, says the report. More
than two in five zero-hours workers in their twenties said they were working
part-time because they couldn’t get full-time
employment.
The TUC is concerned that the
number of people trapped on zero-hours contracts continues to grow, even as the
economy recovers. If this kind of insecure working arrangement becomes
acceptable to employers, a growing number of workers will get trapped in jobs
with low pay and poor career prospects.
TUC General
Secretary Frances O’Grady said:
“Zero-hours contracts have always been around but they were once confined
to tiny areas of the labour market, and seen as a way to keep staff on even
when work dried up.
“But casualised work is
becoming more popular, even as the economy recovers. Companies like Sports
Direct have put huge numbers of staff on zero hours contracts, even as they
expand and pay bonuses to senior staff.
“Employers like to argue
that zero-hours contracts offer flexibility but for many workers they mean
poverty pay and no way of knowing how often they’ll be working from one
week to the next.
“Replacing vulnerable zero
hours contracts with more secure employment will be a key test of whether this
recovery is reaching hard-pressed workers. In the meantime, the government
should legislate to prevent the abuse of zero-hours contracts by bad
employers.”
NOTES TO
EDITORS:
- Casualisation and Low
Pay is available at www.tuc.org.uk/sites/default/files/Casualisationandlowpay.docx
- All TUC press releases can be
found at www.tuc.org.uk
- Follow the TUC on Twitter:
@tucnews
Contacts:
Media enquiries:
Elly Gibson T: 020 7467 1337 M: 07900 910624
E: egibson@tuc.org.uk