The controversy surrounding Zero hours contracts has not gone unnoticed by the Government and so the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) has published some new guidance for employers with draft regulations.
Because of this, it is so important to make sure that you have something in place to keep you on top of your compliance.
We wrote a post not too long about the pros and cons of zero hours contracts, which you can recap on here:
https://realityhr.co.uk/blog/zero-hour-contracts-are-they-a-good-idea/
We also have a bit more information about compliance here and a case study on compliance which you can read here.
So on to the guidelines…
- Zero hour contracts are only appropriate in situations where an employee is engaged in seasonal work or a one-off event
- When recruiting, employers should clearly advertise the job as a zero hour contract and inform any applicant that hours are not guaranteed
- Employers should include within the contract whether they deem the individual an employee or a worker, what rights they are entitled to, how work will be offered to them, and how the contract can be terminated
- Employers should give as much notice as is possible when work is or is not offered
- Remember that exclusivity clauses have been prohibited since May 2015.
In addition to the above there are the “Exclusivity Terms in Zero Hour Contracts (Redress) Regulations 2015”, currently still in draft:
- Zero hour workers will have a right not to be unfairly dismissed if the reason is that they have failed to comply with an exclusivity clause;
- There is no qualifying period of employment needed to bring such a claim;
- Zero hour workers have the right not to be subjected to detriment because of non-compliance with an exclusivity clause;
- If an employer breaches these rights, a worker may issue a claim and seek a declaration or compensation.
So what does this mean for you?
You need to review your contracts of employment for a start and you will need to perform an audit for your workforce to see if zero hours contracts are appropriate to use in line with the BIS guidelines.
This is something that we can help you with. Take a look at our Contracts of employment page here and fill out the form at the bottom of this post to organise a call with us to talk about your pains.