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.

yabu - 0 hours contracts trap many families in poverty - given that you can't claim jsa etc if you have one - even if you get no work

I employ zero hour workers (as a manager its not my company) they get all the same benefits as the rest, mat pay, sick pay, paid hol and free clothing, they get their Rotas 4 weeks in advance, it just gives them the flexibility they need so is perfect for mums/students etc

The problem isn't with zero contract hours per se, but more the way some companies abuse them. There are all sorts of people in all sorts of circumstances fro whom they are really useful.

Some of these employers also put something in the contract to stop employees taking work elsewhere which is outrageous! This should be stopped.

Translation...........they want you to be available at all times "on call" but without paying you for it.

OP I shouldn't worry - if you and your employer get on well I am sure it will be possible for you to come to a suitable alternative arrangement.

www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/apr/25/are-you-on-a-zero-hours-contract-uk?CMP=twt_gu

I employ three staff on zero contracts, I pay holiday and sick pay.
It's a care team for my three teens who have autism,the hours vary due to school and college holidays.
I pay well above minimum wage, the hours are agreed and funded by social services, the agreed hours are however changeable at SS level. Hence care team hours can't be guaranteed.

I had to turn down a zero hours contract recently as it would have cost me my entitlement to carers allowance and working tax credits. The idea of risking having nothing coming in at all as a lone parent was too scary for me. The lone parent advisor at the job centre was not happy at having to tell me that it could achieve the opposite of what I want - a reasonable level of security.

Zero hours contracts work for those for whom the money earned is effectively pin money, not those who are trying pay the utility bills, rent and grocery bills with it. A married woman with a decent earning partner may find a zero hours contract under the right circumstances convenient.

Even councils have been getting in on the zero hours malarkey - schools need cleaning regularly, bins need collecting etc, etc. Too many employers have taken the mick! Zero hours contracts have caused a LOT of social ills over the last few years.

Sadly food banks and zero hours contracts go hand in hand. They need to be banned. There's always been casual labour but blatent exploitation is another matter and that's what zero hours contracts have become. It's not hard for a reasonable employer to guarantee 10 hours per week but let you work a few more on the same hourly rate if the demands of the business require it. At least that way you know your base earnings and can budget around it.

OP your situation could be resolved by flexible working arrangements very easily. You agree to do a certain number of hours on an annual basis, and complete them as and when suits both yourself and the employer. Same as many people on permanent or fixed term contracts do with term time working, flexi hours etc.

Took my brother almost 2 years to get out of the debt a zero hour contract left him in.... and the job centre cant see why he wont take another....

Not saying they are not right for everyone, but when you are the sole breadwinner you need the security of a fixed weekly/monthly income.

Zero hour contracts are ok in principle, in fact they can be ideal for many employees, but they have come to be grossly abused by many employers.

onlyjoking - there's no excuse for a public body like SS not guaranteeing you the customer or the employee a guaranteed minimum number of hours per annum. The vulnerable deserve far more stability than this, and a carer on a zero hours contract will be offski with no feeling that any notice is owed morally as soon as a secure job appears on the horizon.

SS are the ones that foster the kids when employees on zero hours contracts become homeless ffs! Of all people they ought to be aware of the social misery caused by these things.

I think they should be called casual contracts with the same requirement of offer of fixed contract aftrr x mths and not count as far as benefits sanctions are concerned as they aren't a permanent regular position - imo they are used by employers as the government is essentially forcing people in to them - I doubt they would have as many takers otherwise

Both my SIL and DNeice are on 0 hours contracts. One for a multi-million pound company, one for a small company. Both get 'laid off' for 6 weeks of every year because their employers are unscrupulous bastards and can get away with it.

SIL has been working for the smaller company for 10 years - except she hasn't, because every year she's worked there 'less than a year'. DNeice is in the same boat and has been for 3 years.

Neither get holiday or sickness pay.

They live in an area of high unemployment where options are limited - and I can see them doing the same job for the rest of their lives.

BIL works for the same company as DNeice but isn't on 0 hours, however over the last few years his job has more than doubled in responsibility (but not pay). He's had to suck it up because there is no security for SIL and they need the money. The last person to make waves was 'made redundant', and their job quickly renamed and readvertised as 0 hours. There is nothing they can do.

Zero hours may be good for you OP, but I assume you have a guaranteed wage coming in from another direction too (DP?). When it's your only choice, it's no choice.

They should make the NMW higher for those on Zero Hour contracts to make up for the uncertainty.
It would also encourage cheapskate employers to give certainty of base hours for a lower hourly rate.

It is not just zero hour contracts that need to change. It is the attitude of employers towards their staff.

I had a job on a low hour contract but was constantly working double but sometimes triple my contract with no extra holiday allowance or sick pay. It was made to sound like you could turn down the extra hours but when it came to it you couldnt.

I think the issue is that some employers expect their employees to always be available for work when offered.

I don't like them either, it seems unfair. Why not have a fixed hours contract and then offer overtime?

"It is not just zero hour contracts that need to change. It is the attitude of employers towards their staff."

Exactly. Even if zero hour contracts were an option, as a PP said, how many businesses would pressure ask their employees to consider one?

I had a couple of zero hours jobs that worked well for me when I was a student. However one of them I had to leave as part way through a new manager took over and cut all the hours of people she didn't like. It didn't matter that much to me as I was living at home, but for the single parents who had rent and bills to pay it was utterly devastating.

YABU

Those on zero hours contracts at my work really can't make ends meet. Many of them took the job to avoid sanctions from JCP after redundancy from elsewhere. They are trapped and have no rights while they fall further into poverty.

It's common to go for a few weeks without any hours. When they do get hours it can easily be so few that they earn less than £100 for the week so it doesn't cover much never mind saving for the leaner weeks.

Their contract requires them to be available 24/7 at a moments notice. They are forbidden to take a second job to make ends meet. They are forbidden from doing anything that may reduce availability so cannot do voluntary work or training that may improve their employment prospects. Applying for a completely new job is problematic as turning your phone off for an interview is considered to be making yourself unavailable.

Refusing a shifts mean you will not be offered again for a week for a first offence, 2 weeks for a second offence and so on. Not answering the phone, saying it will take more than the notice they've given you (can be as little as 20 min) to get into work due to child care or buses or being unwell are all counted as refusing shifts.

They can't quit either as that would bar them from benefits and guarantee no income until they get something else which can take a while these days.

I think that uselessidiots example demonstrates why zero hours contracts have to go... OP YABU.