We recently debated the concept of zero hour employment contracts in the workplace and thought it may be time to do some further research.
On a very quick search, we have found that the use of zero hour contracts is growing fast and tends to be favoured by large business. Various reports estimate that from 250,000 to 5 million workers are employed in this manner. And whilst the overarching ideals should provide benefits to both employer and employee there has been instances of zero hour workers being taken advantage of.
For the employer, the concept provides access to a ready and willing workforce without committing to ongoing costs. In theory, it should allow a business to grow with such a workforce until it becomes sustainable to increase existing from zero hours to a reasonable level. For the employee, there is no ongoing commitment to work at certain days and times and assuming hours are offered they can potentially enjoy the flexibility. Many employees do however express the desire for security of income.
The recent interest over the summer sparked a government response to prepare a consultation on the legal and practical issues of zero hours contracts for both employers and employees. We can expect further details to follow in the near future.
In the meantime, we’d like to hear from you about whether you use such contracts in your business. What is the employee response? Is it effective or does it breed a difficult relationship?
Pharmacy Consulting Limited can be contacted on 01252 302 342.