To say " leave my zero hours contract alone! "

[Seventy6]

Just heard on the news of proposals to make employers fix the hours of employees after 6 months if there is a 0 hours contract.

My 0 hours job is perfect for both parties at the moment, I work on projects and can work if I want and if needed for that piece of work. If I can't, that's ok, they can use someone else. Some weeks I work loads , in the holidays much less. If I have to fix my hours the flexibility which makes the arrangement will be lost. I will no longer have a job.

My student sister has a similar situation in the restaurant where she works, she also enjoys the flexibility, whilst the restaurant can afford to operate in a seasonal weather based business.

I know these contracts don't work for everyone, but it is wiring to take the flexibility away for all.

Wrong , not wiring..

I agree
Really hope they don't abolish 0 hours contract as we'll lose out
I have fixed hours each week but can do extra on top as zero hours contract
If they fix it I'll lose that extra money as , like you, I can accept or decline the extra hours ( usually dependant on what dh is working that week )

I think it's more targeting those doing full time each week but employers avoiding paying sick leave & pension?

Just because it works for you then that's ok for those it doesn't

So I have to sacrifice my job and income for my family ?

Ideally, there needs to be a balance to suit all (though I'm not sure how that can be acheived).

For some people, like yourselves, 0 hours is perfect but I do think it's unfair that people on these contracts can have hours changed whenever and miss out on benefits such as pensions, sick pay etc.

Maybe 0 hours but allowing pensions/sick pay based on a persons average working hours would be better and also that the employer must offer fixed hours after 6 months but the employee can decide whether to accept or stay 0 hours if that suits them better.

There are a small number of employees it suits and a lot of employers taking the piss. There are also a hell of a lot of people being exploited and in a vulnerable position unable to secure a fixed income. I think the needs of the last group are more important than those of someone who can afford to pick and choose their hours.

I get pension and holiday pay included in the hourly rate, which you would also get through an employment agency.

I am not a person who can 'afford to pick and choose' btw. I am a person who has caring responsibilities, and a flexible working arrangement us the only way I can earn an income for my family.

I was wondering about this. I had a zero hours contract (years and years ago) when I was a student and it worked really well. But I agree with sooty, and there must be a way round it.

Is there such a thing as seasonal contracts here? I know there are in France. Or in your situation op, could you be self employed and then bill them as a 'consultant'?

Parliamo
Self employment rules don't allow you to claim to be self employed if you have one employer.

I am tired of seeing people sanctioned by the job centre for reluctance to apply for zero hour contracts. I'm appalled that so many are trying to base their family income on them while having no security.By and large they're a tool used by exploitative employers and I don't see why employees should be forced to accept them especially without time limit.
I agree with a point made previously. If you want/need a zero hour way of working, do it as a self employed contractor rather than expecting others to be exploited to suit your needs.

Could you provide a link to the rule which says you can't offer your services on a self employed basis please?

One of my children has a part time job on a zero hours contract. Fine for her because she is a school student and we support her and she has the flexibility to not be available for work when she needs to be. For the majority of people it must be shit. Imagine not knowing from one week to the next if you are going to have enough hours to get money for rent or food. It should be the exception rather than the rule.

I thought the proposal was to give workers the right to a fixed contract after 6 months if they wanted it, not that the contracts would automatically be switched over?

If so, I don't see anything wrong with that. I worked what was effectively a zero hours contract in uni (not in this country) and it was perfect for me and thousands of other students. I wouldn't want them banned outright but the right to switch to a fixed contract after x months sounds like a reasonable solution to me.

Employment / self employment depends on the facts of the situation, and not on whether you/your "employer" decides you are one or the other.

There are no exact rules, rather "badges of trade" which point towards self employment.

i think 0 hour contracts are horrid and mainly only benifit the empoyer!
it may work for some but i would guess it sucks for the most.

i wont take a 0 hour contract because many cant promise you exact hours.

and ill be dammed if ill take a job where its living on the hope you get enough hours next week,

www.hmrc.gov.uk/leaflets/es-fs1.pdf

Under Checking your employment status

Imagine. You have a good job, married, baby on the way. You have saved up a deposit on a house and then you are made redundant.
You have worked there for just under 2 years and get minimal redundancy.
You are offered a job on zero hour contract which you have to take. You work 40hrs+ a week and find your dream home.
You cant get a mortgage because you have no job security.
Yabvu.

The trouble is when jobseekers look for work they often have no choice. Refuse to interview for zero hour jobs? Sanctioned. Get a zero hour job? Face total lack of security about your income week on week. But of course if it suits a group of people not dependent on regular hours that's fine Apparently.

ilovesooty - to be self-employed you need to demonstrate that your employer is not just opting out of responsibilities of tax and NI, so you need to have more than one employer which would be evidenced by your invoices for hours contracted to those various employers. Not sure where you'd find all this out, but I learned it on a course run for local small business start ups on tax, book-keeping etc. So you might try your local small enterprise unit.

I think the rule needs to be that employers must offer fixed hours after 6 months so that people have a choice. The piss taking by employers has to be stopped, but the people who want the flexibility have to be accommodated too.

I understood it would be after 12 months employment with the same co. that they would have to offer a fixed contract.

While i agree that workers should be entitled to a fixed hour contract, wont this law result in companies simply finding ways to get rid of their employers at the one year point and just re-employ new ones on zero hours again?

Working for more than one employer/contractor is only one of the criteria according to that link-not an absolute requirement.

I worked a 0 hours contract as a carer.It absolutely screwed me over financially.There was no picking and choosing; I couldn't turn work down because it didn't suit me that day and if they didn't have work for me I still had to pay DC nursery fees.The turn over of staff was very high unsurprisingly. I'm sure I lost more money than I was ever going to make in a shift. Never again.

The plans are that after six months an employee can request fixed hours and after 12 months a fixed hours contract is automatically given.

It's a Labour Party not government initiative so dependent on next years general election.

However I wouldn't trust most zero hours employers not to try to get rohbd new rules if they came in. For the majority of employees zero hours contracts don't work well. I think they are immoral.