First let’s confirm what a zero hours contract is. Its an agreement between two parties to perform work without any minimum hours.

These contracts provide a pool of staff for the employer to meet demand without relying on agencies, offering flexibility for both sides, which means the individual can either accept the work offered or decide not to take up the offer on that occasion.

The key features of a zero hours contract are:

• They can have a worker or employee status
• The individual is entitled to:

1. certain basic statutory employment rights
2. at least the National Minimum Wage
3. paid annual leave
4. rest breaks
5. protection from unlawful discrimination, whistleblowing unfair treatment for working part time
6. those who are employees have additional rights, such as being able to claim unfair dismissal and a redundancy payment – subject to the two years qualifying service

So, what are an employee’s rights under a zero hours contract?

Well, that depends on the employment status, if they are a worker their rights are points a – e above, plus they need a contract on or before they start work – this is a day one right and they also have a right to payslips.

If they are an employee they have additional employment rights such as family friendly leave, minimum notice periods etc. Look out for my next blog where I will cover employment status in more detail.

Is there anything else I need to consider when employing an individual on a zero hours contract?

Yes, don’t forget a Workplace Pension, if aged between 22 and state pension age and earning at least £10,000 per annum the individual is entitled to a Workplace Pension.

Annual leave can also be a tricky one to navigate, as typically a zero hours worker will be taking limited holidays, however they are legally entitled to 5.6 weeks’ paid holiday a year. Holiday pay is calculated by taking the average pay from the previous 52 weeks (only counting weeks in which they were paid).

If you need further guidance on zero hours contracts get in touch on 📲 01905 900080