By Rachel Ellis, Partner & Employment Rights Manager
The Government has launched a consultation on how new protections for workers on zero-hours and low-hours contracts will work in practice. The proposals form part of the Employment Rights Act 2025 and aim to tackle insecure work while preserving genuine flexibility.
Why is reform needed?
While the Act’s provisions are frequently referenced in the media as reforms to ‘ban zero hours contracts’, this isn’t in fact the case and the provisions are designed to tackle the misuse of insecure working arrangements by giving workers greater certainty over their hours and income, but do not ban such arrangements.
A zero hour’s contract in reality is a casual work contract with no obligation on either party to offer or accept work. These contracts can be legitimately used in some circumstances where both parties require true flexibility, such as workers who genuinely want the freedom of flexible work commitment. However, too often they are widely misused and over the last 10 years or more increasing numbers of workers have been left relying on these contracts as their sole or main income. This has created significant financial insecurity and hardship for many workers. In reality, the flexibility they offer has undoubtedly disproportionately benefitted employers while secure work has become harder to obtain. The changes introduced by the Employment Rights Act 2025 seek to redress this balance.
What does the Act say about ‘zero hour contracts’?
The Act introduces a right for qualifying workers to be offered guaranteed hours that reflect the hours they regularly work over a reference period. During the passage of the Act through Parliament the Government resisted attempts to dilute this to only a right request guaranteed hours, meaning the duty to make an offer when criteria is met remains.
Workers on low-hours contracts will also be entitled to an offer where they regularly work beyond their contracted hours over a defined period.
The Act also includes provisions to make employer’s liable to pay compensation for cancelling shifts at short notice or curtailing shifts mid-way through.
Importantly, the provisions will also cover agency workers, preventing employers from using agency arrangements to avoid the new protections.
What is the consultation seeking views on?
The current consultation focuses on the mechanics of how the Acts provisions will work in practice and what the secondary legislation to put the changes into place should provide.
In particular, the Government is asking for feedback on how long a worker would need to work before becoming eligible and what is the definition of a low hours contract. Views are also sought on how guaranteed hours should be calculated and how the new rights should apply to agency workers.
It is also consulting on what should constitute reasonable notice of shifts, the level of compensation payable when shifts are cancelled, curtailed or moved at short notice, and whether there should be any exemptions for employers in exceptional circumstances.
Finally, the consultation asks for views on enforcement, including the role of the Fair Work Agency, and how best to ensure the new protections deliver greater security and predictability for workers while maintaining necessary flexibility for employers.
For workers these reforms could deliver greater job security, more predictable income and stronger protections against last-minute scheduling practices. The detail of the regulations will be critical in determining how many workers benefit and how effective the new rights are in practice.
The consultation closes on 25 August 2026.
