Sophie Lockwood writes for People Management on the future of zero hour contracts
min readSophie Lockwood, Senior Associate in the Employment team, writes an article for People Management considering whether working arrangements with no minimum hours should be banned.
With the result of the general election nearing, political parties are busy making headline-grabbing pledges in an attempt to sway undecided voters and lure back the disenchanted.
As part of its proposed New Deal for Working People, Labour has repeatedly pledged an outright ban on zero-hours contracts, under which businesses are not obliged to commit to any minimum number of working hours.
Sophie outlines that an outright ban on this type of casual working arrangement could result in redundancies (both in the short term, with the obligation to offer minimum working hours resulting in staffing levels exceeding requirement, and the longer term, with companies less able to retain staff in times of economic instability or business downturn), increased staffing costs and businesses losing valuable members of staff who are unable to commit to minimum working hours. The latter in particular could have a disproportionate impact on women and younger people, who are more likely to have study, primary childcare and/or caring commitments.
Read the full piece in People Management here.
