How 0 hours contract really benefit the employees who do not have enough hours?

[AworkQuestion0hours]

What is the logic in the 0 hours contract? If you are a manager, to whom do you give most hours and why?

The argument is that it benefits employees when want more flexibility. For example, of someone has a remitting/relapsing illness they can refuse shifts when needs be and make the most of the days they feel able to work. I was on zero hours contract as a student and could take time off whenever I needed it for coursework and my employer couldn't really do much about that.

I give the hours to the most reliable staff who are best at their jobs 1st, they are my core staff the rest are just cover in staff

So basically the ones given the least shifts are regarded as individuals who are not important at all or important to cover other people's lives

I have a 2nd job zero hours contract, they pick people who turn up and don’t cancel at last minute.

I read that as
staff a) reliable and good at job

staff b) unreliable and not good at there job

of course you’d select staff a

My ds is on a zero hours contract.

He's a swimmer and quite often travels abroad to compete for GBR.

He works his set 3 days a week and sometimes his boss will ask him to do more if he's got a presentation coming up or project needs finishing. (Software development).

But it also gives ds flexibility to compete as and when necessary with national comps as well as if he's abroad for 8-10 days.

He could work freelance and bill his boss the hours but this way works better for them both.

But I can see why for some people it's a real negative.

@AworkQuestion0hours most places if they use 0 hours contracts you start on a lower contract and work your way up ~ the better you are in the role the more valuable you are to the company.

Lots do appreciate the flex of a 0 hour contract, because you can also refuse shifts. Good (in theory) for students who'll have busier weeks etc.

I have a zero hours contract.

It means I can accept or refuse work at my will. I’ve basically wangled my self a term time school hours or nighttime job working from home in company that works 7-6pm.

Often there is more work than I could even want but there are only a handful of us on these contracts and they don’t want to hire anyone else due to equipment value and logistics.

Mr Monkey works in retail. They have a lot of 0 hours or low hours staff. Those staff tend to fit work around study or other jobs (often precarious stuff like theatre or event work). Some weeks they only want a few hours, others they are happy to pick up more. Full time and part time staff who work fixed days have set hours contracts so are preferenced on tbs rota.

However, as it is a central London store with daily shifts from 7am - 9pm, there are always more hours to pick up if people want them.

I am not a fan of zero hour contracts, but that is not what the poster said. They said that first choice of hours goes to reliable staff who turn up for work. On other types of contracts, unreliable staff who don't turn up for work generally get sacked!

I used to have a zero hours contract as a student. It was great and really flexible. I worked for an events business (waitressing) at lots of nice venues. It wouldn’t be appropriate as a person with responsibilities.

That's not what they said at all!

How can you plan personal finance if you never know how many hours you are given?

Ime if you turn down shifts you won't be offered so many. It's all in the employer's favour - they get exactly the amount of labour they need, calculated down to the last hour of manpower, without having to bother themselves about pesky details like long term planning for recruitment, retention and training : why would you? You have a constant pool of slightly surplus labour at your disposal that doesn't cost you anything to keep on hand.

I also used to work zero hours as a student. It was fab for me. In holidays i would pick up up to 40 hours a week, but then I would disappear off to university for a few months at a time.

I have colleagues who are reliable and need money but are given unpredictable hours and wondering how they make it in life

It doesn't work for everyone but does for some people. When I did zero hours it worked for me as I could pickup work when I was around. If I had applied for a full time job with contracted hours no one in their right mind would have wanted me as I couldn't work for 10 week periods.

@AworkQuestion0hours if you need set minimum of hours can you not just leave and find somewhere that will commit to regularly having the hours for you? Otherwise you'll be having this problem forever - yes it sucks, but for the people who want 0 hours contracts it works.

You find a job with set contractual hours. There are plenty to pick from. Zero hours contract are beneficial for those who prioritize free time to do other things over financial security. If you need financial security, then you do a different job.

OK, I see

We are not quite zero hours as we are on 12 or 16 hr contracts.
You sign up to the remaining shifts that you want. A manager doesn't 'choose' it's first come first served.
There's always shifts available if you take the unpopular ones eg Saturday lates.

With a great deal of stress and uncertainty and a fair amount of incremental benefit fraud.

Some jobs are almost entirely zero/short hours contracts now that decades ago were all staff on fixed contracted hours - shops, factories, restaurants all used to have permanent set hours contracts, full and part time. But that creates responsibilities for employers, so shit employers like supermarkets and warehouses duck out. Why should these titans of industry experience any uncertainty when you can shift the stress onto minimum wage staff?

Yes, I heard someone arguing with their colleague that she has the universal credit topped up enough but the other cannot get any because gets more hours. I do not understand this either. So how universal credit works if you have unpredictable hours ?

The amount of universal credit you get varies in line with what you earn. BUT it's not a straightforward £ for £ calculation, so even that is stressful and unpredictable. And the universal credit is calculated every four weeks, so there's always at least a slight lag. Better than tax credits though I guess, which was only recalculated once a year.

Of course what would be best of all would be for employees to be able to support themselves from employment.

Zero hours contracts work well for many people but like anything, it won’t work for everyone. My workplace uses them and the people who are given the most work are the ones that are best at their jobs. They don’t turn up and do the bare minimum. The ones who get fewer shifts aren’t treated as unimportant, they’re treated like people who chose a zero hour contract.