Zero Hours Contracts - BIS Guidance
There has been much debate pre and post-election about abuse of zero hours contracts. A zero hours contract is a non-legal term used to describe types of casual agreements between an employer and an individual. Generally, under a zero hours contract the employer does not guarantee to provide the individual with any work and pays the individual only for work actually carried out
It is accepted that an individual on a zero hours contract will either have a status of 'worker' or 'employee', with many employers trying to offer the former as this provide less protection to the staff. It should be remembered that regardless of status, all individuals on zero hours contracts are entitled to the National Minimum Wage, paid annual leave, rest breaks and protection from discrimination. In addition, those individuals who have employee status will be entitled to statutory employment rights.
The guidance produced by BIS provides further information on zero hours contracts and how they should be used. It includes information on employment rights, appropriate use, inappropriate use, alternatives, best practice and exclusivity clauses: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/zero-hours-contracts-guidance-for-employers
Posted on 11/04/2015 by Ortolan
