Government urged to tackle zero-hours contracts

The figure has increased by 101,000 over the past year and now represents 2.8% of all people in employment.

Zero-hours contract workers are more likely to be young, women, part-timers or in full-time education, the Office for National Statistics said.

Those on zero-hours contracts usually work 25 hours a week, with one in three wanting more hours.

Workers employed on the contracts do not know how many hours they will be offered from week to week.

Unite’s leader Len McCluskey said: “The Government must act to tackle bogus self-employment and follow the example of its New Zealand counterparts by outlawing zero-hours contracts.

“If we are to build an economy based on decent, secure jobs then insecure working must end.”

Unison general secretary Dave Prentis said: “Zero-hours contracts are everywhere in social care.

“They give the upper hand to unscrupulous employers and silence employees who fear they’ll lose hours if they speak out about poor practice or illegal pay.

“The lack of regular hours also make it impossible for care workers to know how much they’re being paid,” he added.

“This lets employers get away with paying below the legal minimum.”

Tim Roache, GMB general secretary, said: “The number of zero-hours workers is on course to hit one million.

“In the real world, zero hours means zero certainty, zero security, zero ability to plan your life, your future, your family’s finances, because from one week to the next, people don’t know how much is going to be on their next pay slip.”