Zero hours

The number of zero hours contracts (ZHCs) has risen to 1.8 million according to the Office for National Statistics, and represents 2.3% of all people in employment.

TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady said that the contracts “sum up what has gone wrong in the modern workplace. They shift almost all power from the worker and give it to their boss.”

The TUC said ZHC workers earn £300 a week less, on average, than staff on permanent contracts. And Dave Prentis, general secretary of the UNISON public services union, said that despite the economy improving, ZHCs are booming and have become standard practice in the social care sector.

“This is bad news for social care workers and the elderly and disabled people they care for,” he said. "They are now more likely to be cared for by a procession of strangers because the advent of zero hours means their carers no longer have regular schedules.”

www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/lmac/contracts-with-no-guaranteed-hours/zero-hour-contracts--2014/index.html

https://www.tuc.org.uk/economic-issues/fair-pay-fortnight-2015/zero-hours-contracts-sum-what-has-gone-wrong-modern

www.unison.org.uk/at-work/health-care/council-and-nhs-employers-must-do-more-to-limit-zero-hours-contracts