Have zero hour contacts ever worked for anyone?

[Electricdreams22]

I don’t know why I thought it would be a good idea, I earn a totally different wage every month with no idea of what I’ll get.
This month, I’ve earned around 25% less than last which is a significant drop.
I had one day off sick so lost around £75 then.
Used to work virtually every day in order to come out with £1700 net, now seen some sense and been firm with them and come out with £1270 net, for an average of 38 hours per week.
Around 30p an hour above minimum wage, so this is why I’m leaving next month.
A colleague has a fractured body part and is still having to come in as she likely can’t afford to live on 3 days of nothing and then SSP.

Has anybody else been on a 0 hours contract?

I had a 0 hours contract at uni- worked for me because I could fit it around exams / busier / quieter times.

BUT it was just a short term supplement to my income. Not a main job to pay the bills indefinitely.

Zero hours contracts are great - if you earn north of £25 per hour. Then, despite their unpredictability, they allow you the flexibility to work hard and play hard. Many of the external 'jobs' that MPs have are close to or literally zero hours.
Like the minimum wage (which became the maximum wage for enormous numbers of jobs), they only work for people with enough money to choose whether they take them or not.
My sympathies to those for whom they are the only work on offer.

When I was in college and student loans were my base income, it was great. I worked when I could and from the extra money I saved up for tuition and books for the next year.
I would hate it now that I rely on a monthly income to pay my monthly bills. My landlord won't care how many hours I work in a month, the rent is always do before the end of the month. Same goes for all the other monthly bills. Plus, I schedule my free time around my work, so it's good to know what I can expect and what time I have available for myself.

Sometimes zero hours contracts suit both parties, but often they are horribly exploitative and leave workers very vulnerable. I wonder whether zero hours contracts should have a higher minimum wage to compensate for the unpredictability/lack of sick pay etc.

They're not great if you need a regular wage, I was on one when I was a student and it worked great for me but I didn't have a mortgage and kids then!

I had one when dc were small, and it suited me well. Contracted staff had to work every other weekend, I could just put my name down for shifts I wanted to work. I was lucky in that I had my pick of shifts and In 5 years wasn't in a position where I was desperate for shifts to make my money up. I knew what I needed to earn, and booked myself in for that amount of shifts. I'd book in extra if I needed extra money. I could also avoid shifts with more difficult to work with (lazy) colleagues. IIRC I got an allowance for holiday hours, can't remember about sick but I don't think I got that. It would've been really stressful if there weren't many shifts going though!

DH used to be on one. Worked OK when DS was young and he could work as and when suited us, but his employer used it in the correct way (IMO) by also being flexible. However, once DS was at school he struggled to get enough hours and switched to a job with regular hours at the same workplace. Interestingly, his employer no longer offers zero hours contracts.

If I’m off sick I don’t get paid anything for the first 4 days and after that it’s just ssp, so pretty risky.
Regardless, they still ask if you can come in if you’re sick. Having a colleagues with severe injuries come in just shows they couldn’t give a shit, any decent employer would ask that she recovers at home.

Me when I was a student. Wouldn't suit now.

Definitely works well as a student. Work as many hours as I can and can’t in the holidays and during Covid could work extra around live lectures. It works well when it’s not the only source of income your relying on or you’re relying on a set amount as a minimum each month to cover all expenditures.

You’re - oops!

It worked for me when I was a student, could do minimal hours at deadline/exam time loads of extra in the holidays or after exams, before term ended etc. Same during sixth form

I'm a supply teacher so am on a kind of 0 hours contract.

My wage goes up and down and can be unpredictable but I'm off for all weekends and school holidays and don't have to spend my evenings and weekends planning, marking and assessing.

At the moment I'm really busy and am getting something like £700 p/w which should be more than enough to support us; the problem is that we're in debt and are living hand to mouth because childcare costs were crippling when our dc were small and we haven't yet recovered from that.

I used to be able to save enough that I had at least a month's worth of outgoings in the bank so could cope with illness etc quite easily and the plan is that when our debts are paid off (2 years all being well) we'll be able to do that again.

To the pp who suggested that the op look for cleaning etc work in the nhs on the basis that she would get nhs terms and conditions, those days are long gone, sadly. Hospital support staff are much more likely to be working for giant outsourcing companies on poor terms and conditions, to the detriment of all of us neweconomics.org/2021/06/outsourcing-as-a-threat-to-public-health

@AnotherOneWithNoGoodName

I used to work "bank" for the NHS, which was technically a zero hours contract in that you picked your own shifts. But it obviously had much better pay and conditions than most 0 hours, including NHS sick pay and pension etc. Some weeks I would work 0 hours, some weeks 40 and anything in between as I could fit around my life at the time. This is probably what 0 hours SHOULD be designed for and like, so probably not the best example. If you need the flexibility, perhaps see if your local NHS hospital has flexible Horus for cleaners/HCA if you can do the job? It's honestly not that bad of a deal, pretty much the same benefits as permanent staff and as many hours as you like.

Yes I used to be a nurse ,Bank staff are affectively zero hour staff It worked for a lot of people because they could pick and choose their hours rather than being rostered ,so they could work around child care etc ,as you say the condition,s were a lot better than most zero hour contracts .

They're unlikely to work where you're the main or only earner in a household, unless you have a high hourly/day rate and can afford to pick and choose your work.

Unfortunately that doesn't apply to you or your sector if it's care, and obviously there's a lot wrong with pay and conditions in care, which is why they're always short staffed and then fall back on illegal working practices like having you work 21 days straight with no break.

Hopefully you're going to a better employer who offers more regular hours and better conditions in terms of days off etc.

I did secretarial temping on a zero hours contract whilst I was at uni. It was great as I could do 1 shift a week term time, basically full time in the holidays and take as much time off as I wanted. It also paid really, really well for a student job. It must be really difficult to manage on one if you have proper grown up financial responsibilities though.

DS has zero hours working for a freight company at an airport, as he still lives at home it’s fine and in 10 months he has only had one week with short hours. Overtime has gone crazy with Christmas and he is earning almost £20ph overtime rate. He pays £20 per week rent and is saving for a house deposit, he starts his degree apprenticeship next year.

For a short period whilst at university but it was only 'extra money' and not needed for bills etc. I cannot imagine it working for people with responsibilities.
It worked well for me as meant plenty of flexibility around how many hours/what days/times etc I wanted each week

I think it relies on the employers good will, which is a recipe for disaster, and why we have employment laws in the first place (which this seems to be a way of getting around)

You get employers who really expect you to take whatever is offered, and if you say no, offer you nothing the next week/ month. So you’ve got no control over your life, or flexibility in your favour, but they have all the control and flexibility.

Sounds like living with my exh now I think about it!

I once tried to leave a (part-time) job. They didn't find a replacement, and asked what it would take to keep me. "No commitment", I said, and so I had a zero hours contract. After a year or two they looked at the hours I was claiming and put me onto a 0.1/0.2ish contract. It was a good solution in that particular situation, and it would be a shame if the option were never available. However for those needing a reliable income, they must be an absolute nightmare.

I work on bank, it really works for me, I have all the school holidays off, don’t work weekends and finish work at three each day, but my work is always short staffed and my husband has a good job so I never worry if they don’t need me.

It worked well for me in hospitality whilst studying. The place I worked was busier at Xmas and summer so I could always get extra hours and money in the holidays. During the term time I had less hours and therefore more time to study and the place was okay with this as they were quieter.

I could also take time off at short notice for trips with friends etc! However, it wasn’t my only source of income- I also had a student loan etc!

They have their place for students etc but I’m not sure if they work for anyone who needs to support themselves entirely with no other income.

You'll have trouble with a mortgage - not a lot of lenders will accept a sole borrower on a zero hour contract. Those that do have higher rates, will probably require a bigger deposit, and will want to see reasonably consistent earning/hours with the same employer over time to be sure you're not earning £1800 one month and £400 the next - they need to know you're a safe bet to lend to, if you see what I mean. So small fluctuations each month are okay, but bigger ones you'll have no chance (although I don't know specifically what they'd class as a 'big' fluctuation).

It suited my daughter. She went to uni a couple of years later than many do and had a job before she went. It was zero hours and it worked very well for her. She worked weekends at the branch near her uni and then came home during the holidays and worked almost full time at our local branch. It couldn't have been better really.