Zero hours contracts and seasonal employment

Zero hours contracts have had lots of publicity. Although much of the news has been negative, they aren’t necessarily a bad thing . Many students will have found themselves on zero hours contracts this summer and it probably suited them to have no commitment to an employer and to be able to manage their time to continue studies or to travel.

Around 2.3% of the UK workforce has a zero-hour contract, and that number is rising. From an employer’s point of view, it gives them maximum flexibility over workers terms which can be helpful with seasonal jobs for example

Zero Hour Contract – Employee rights

Zero hour employees are entitled to the minimum wage plus statutory annual leave and holiday pay as well as rest breaks based on the hours they work. They do have a contract so qualify as a worker with some rights, for example maternity pay, parental leave or statutory sick pay (which will depend on how much is earned from any one employer). 

The benefits of offering zero hour contracts:

• Flexibility for employees who can seek other work. As the employee has minimal commitment, they may find that employees are not available when you need them.
• Flexibility for employers. It was reported some years back that Buckingham Palace had over 300 employees on zero hours contracts to staff the State Rooms attraction, but this was strenuously denied by the Palace!
• Trial period. Employers can use zero hours contracts to find hard-working employees who fit with their team, without obligation, and can then feel confident in offer them a longer-term contract. A ‘try before you buy’ approach which makes sense given the full cost of on boarding a full-time employee and the on-going commitments it comes with. This is particularly important for very small companies where the overheads of employing new staff are proportionately high and therefore feel like a risk.

The disadvantages of using zero hour contract?

• If an employee doesn’t want to work a shift, they have no obligation to. This can make life as difficult for the employer in terms of managing workload as it does for the employees in managing their work-life arrangements! Although, you’re unlikely to keep offering work to a zero-hours employee who is regularly turning down work.
• Your employees may demonstrate little loyalty and poor motivation – staff on zero hours contracts have few benefits for example, they would not usually be entitled to any bonus scheme, redundancy or pensions. They can’t be sure of their weekly income which can therefore vary week to week and be difficult to manage. Other measures therefore need to be adopted by an employer who wants staff to be motivated and feel valued. The Palace claimed their staff were offered free lunches, holiday pay and uniforms, for example.
• Work-Life balance. When employees could potentially work different hours every week, with little or no notice, they are effectively on call all the time. This means that if they need the work when it does become available, they often have to turn down other social invitations, or clashing work opportunities, which is demoralising. Zero hours contracts can therefore affect wellbeing and morale.

To conclude, there are pros and cons of zero hours contracts. We expect that they will remain a feature of the employment landscape for some time. If you would like our advice as HR experts on your employment contracts, managing teams, employee wellbeing or if you are looking for an experienced team to handle all your HR, we would love to help. Please contact our friendly team on [email protected]