I’m an employment lawyer and these are your rights if you’re on a zero hours contract

ZERO hour work contracts have become more common in recent years, but experts warn they don’t mean you have zero rights.

There were more than 900,000 people on a zero hours contracts in the UK in 2021.

1

But what are your rights if you’re working on one of these contracts?

It’s important to know what you are entitled to in terms of sick pay, holiday and whether your employer can fire you without warning.

Whatever your role, make sure you get your contract in writing – so you and your employer know the terms of your employment before you start.

The rights of workers on casual work arrangements came under scrutiny last year when Uber drivers won a landmark court battle to force the company to recognise them as “workers” rather than self-employed contractors.

Uber said drivers did not “undertake to work” for the company but were “independent, third party contractors”.

But the Supreme Court upheld a decision that found that Uber drivers were workers, and as such were entitled to workers’ rights.

Most read in Money

Stephen Moore, partner and head of employment at law firm Ashfords, explains what being on a zero hours contract means.

What is a zero hours contract?

If you’re on a zero hours contract, there’s no obligation for your employer to provide you with a minimum number of hours of work per week, says Stephen.

Instead, you are employed and get work on an ad-hoc basis.

“There has been a move away from calling them zero hours contracts because of potential negative associations, to call them flexible working hours contracts,” Stephen says.

“These type of contracts are more common in particular industries. For example, in the hospitality industry, because employers need the flexibility to bring workers in at short notice to work particular hours.”

What will I get paid?

Workers on a zero hour contract only get paid for the hours they work.

This means that the amount you earn each week or month can vary a lot, depending on how much work your employer can offer you.

If you’re working in an industry such as hospitality or construction, you may find the work is seasonal.

Regardless of how many hours you work though, you should be getting paid the right amount for them.

The National Minimum Wage is the lowest legal pay rate for UK workers, and what you get depends on how old you are.

It was announced last year that National Living Wage (paid to those aged 23 and over) will go up from £8.91 an hour to £9.50, giving many workers a pay rise of £1,000 a year.

Am I still entitled to breaks?

“People working on zero hours contracts are still entitled to breaks, which kick after a certain amount of time under the working time regulations,” Stephen says.

These say that workers have the right to one uninterrupted 20 minute rest break during their working day, if they work more than six hours a day. This can be a tea or lunch break.

The break doesn’t have to be paid – it depends on the employment contract.

Workers also have the right to 11 hours rest between working days.

So if, for example, you finish work at 8pm, you shouldn’t start work again until at least 7am the next day.

On top of that, you should have at least one uninterrupted 24 hours without any work each week, and one uninterrupted 48 hours without any work each fortnight.

Can I take holiday?

Workers on zero hours contracts accumulate holiday depending on how many hours they work just as people on open contracts do.

“Sometimes employers add the value of your holiday onto your rate of pay, or you may accumulate holiday which must be taken at a particular time,” says Stephen.

“As with most things, you need to check your employment contract as the exact terms do vary.”

Do I qualify for any payment if I’m unwell?

“You rarely find a flexible contract with sick pay rights. Instead, that falls back to the statutory regime,” Stephen says.

If you’re unwell, your employer is legally obliged to pay you £96.35 per week Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) if you’re too ill to work, paid for up to 28 weeks.

This is available as long as you have earned £120 per week (before tax) working for them in the previous eight weeks.

But you’re very unlikely to qualify for any extra help on a zero hours contract, Stephen adds.

What about other rights?

“You do have other statutory rights too, such as maternity pay and pensions,” Stephen says.

If you are over 22 and earning more than £6,240 a year, you should be automatically enrolled in a pension scheme.

If you’re under 22 and earning more than that amount, you can request to join.

This means part of your salary is deducted to put towards a pension and your employer may also contribute to the pot, although you can opt out if you want to.

And if you are expecting a baby, you’ll qualify for Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) regardless of your contract.

SMP is paid for up to 39 weeks and you will get 90% of your average weekly earnings (before tax) for the first six weeks, and then £151.97 or 90% of your average weekly earnings (whichever is lower) for the next 33 weeks.

Can I be fired from a zero hours contract?

.Depending on the type of contract you have and the regularity of the work, you may be afforded additional rights as well.

Stephen says: “If you’ve been employed there for more than two years, you get the right to bring an unfair dismissal claim if you think you’ve been unfairly fired.

“This also means the employer can dismiss you, but has to give you a valid reason.”

He points out that because of the nature of zero hours contracts, employers will often just stop offering you work.

But you must be given a notice period before your employment ends.

The statutory redundancy notice periods are:

• at least one week’s notice if you have been employed between one month and two years
• one week’s notice for each year if employed between two and 12 years
• 12 weeks’ notice if employed for 12 years or more

Your employer may give you more than the statutory minimum, but they cannot give you less.

Can I quit whenever I like?

The same time frames apply if you want to hand in your notice, but you can ask your employee to reduce your notice period.

You also have the option to simply stop accepting work, as zero hours contracts do not specify a minimum number of hours to work.

This post first appeared on thesun.co.uk