The Office of National Statistics (ONS) has revealed that despite calls on the government to end zero hours contracts (ZHCs), nearly one million people in the UK are still subject to the insecurity that they are notorious for.

Not only do ZHCs fail to guarantee workers a minimum number of hours work (which means no predictable pay), many zero hours workers aren’t receiving basic employee rights, such as the National Minimum Wage, sick pay, holiday pay or maternity and paternity pay.

There is a small minority for whom a ZHC may offer flexible hours that fit around education or childcare or they may have a role in sectors where there is seasonal demand. However, according to a poll by the TUC, 66 per cent of workers on ZHCs would actually prefer to have guaranteed hours.

The ONS data reveals that those on ZHCs in the fourth quarter of 2019 worked on average 12.7 hours fewer than those with contracted hours. 

Declan Owens, of Thompsons Solicitors, who advises the campaign group, Zero Hours Justice, commented: “The Conservative government has chosen to pat itself on the back for increased employment rates rather than look at the reality behind the figures. The reality is that while they may be registered as employed, millions of people are struggling to make ends meet and the lives of those on ZHCs are at the whim of those who give them work.

“Day to day, those on ZHCs have no guarantee of work and that means no security. We should be ashamed as a society that people are forced to live week to week unsure when the next pay cheque will be coming in or how much it will be for. In the world’s fifth biggest economy there is no excuse for those who want guaranteed hours to not have them.”

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