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Zero-hours contracts
Business Secretary, Vince Cable, has announced that, under new proposals, employers could be banned from imposing ‘exclusivity’ on zero-hours contracts which offer no guarantee of work and stop employees from working for another employer.
Zero-hours contracts mean employees only work as and when they are needed by employers, often at short notice, and are only paid for the hours they work.
Some of these contracts oblige workers to take the shifts they are offered, others do not.
Sick pay is often not included although holiday pay should be, in line with working time regulations.
According to Office for National Statistics figures, 250,000 workers are on zero-hours contracts, about 1% of the UK workforce.
In the consultation, the Government also outline proposals on ways to tackle the lack of transparency in the way zero-hours contracts are currently being used and improve guidance for both employers and employees around their use.
F&L