Tue, 04 Mar 2025

Tue, 04 Mar 2025 Zero hour contract ban to include agency workers

The government is set to announce a number of changes to the Employment Rights Bill.

* Agency workers will be included in the ban on "exploitative" zero hour contracts.
* The new rules will require agency workers to be offered a contract guaranteeing a minimum number of hours each week, calculated based on their average working hours over a 12-week period or longer (yet to be decided).
* Agency workers who choose to be on zero hour contracts will be eligible for compensation if their shifts are changed at short notice.
* The Labour government has pledged to ban "exploitative zero hours contracts" as part of the Employment Rights Bill.
* The changes aim to close a loophole that allowed employers to get around the proposed zero hours rules by hiring agency staff.
* Trade unions have welcomed the inclusion of agency workers in the ban, but business groups have expressed concerns about the impact on jobs and growth.
* Other amendments include: + Doubling the penalty for "fire and rehire" practices to 180 days' worth of pay (up from 90 days). + Extending sick pay to workers earning under £123 a week from the first day of their illness, with entitlement to 80% of their average weekly earnings or statutory sick pay (whichever is lowest). + Changes to rules around trade union recognition and the ability of unions to take industrial action, including requiring workers to give employers 10 days' notice before strike action.
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