New UK law offers zero-hour contract workers more financial predictability

The new law which is part of the Government’s implementation of the “Good Work Plan” from 2017 will be passed in Autumn next year, giving workers on ‘atypical contracts’ that do not guarantee specific working hours, the legal right to ask for more predictable working patterns. 

According to Statistica, approximately 1.8 million people in the UK are currently on these types of contracts, compared with 1.03 the previous year.

With zero-hour contracts, employers can give little notice of shifts or drop work last minute, which offers little financial stability to the employee. the new law will give these specific workers, agency workers and employees a new statutory right to make a formal request to their employer to add certainty and predictability to their hours and the times they work. After their application the employer will be required to inform the worker of their decision within a month.

Workers on atypical contracts will need to have worked for their employer for a set period – expected to be 26 weeks once set out in regulations – before they can make the request.

The Government  stated the new law will benefit businesses in terms of staff satisfaction and retention, as well as workers. It also noted that zero-hour contracts – and other forms of atypical work - are an "important part of the UK’s flexible labour market" However, they are "determined to tackle unfair working practices".

Christopher Hitchins, London managing partner and employment lawyer at Katten UK, commented that the Royal Assent of the Workers (Predictable Terms and Conditions) Bill is part of an attempt to address the apparent imbalance between employers and zero hours workers and agency staff which is referred to as ‘one-sided flexibility’. 

Hitchins said, “This change in the law is another tinkering to address the new types of working patterns that are associated with the “gig economy”, to try to give workers a bit more certainty over their hours of work and income. These developments in the new law are an iterative process, for example starting with the ban on exclusivity clauses for zero hours’ workers a few years’ back. This new law is another “right to request” – like the right to request flexible working from day one, which is due to come in some time in 2024 - which can be turned down by an employer with appropriate reasoning, not an outright right.”