The United Kingdom government is stepping up its manifesto promise to regulate zero-hours contracts, work contracts that do not guarantee any hours of work, but which are seen by some as being advantageous in that they allow more management of flexible lifestyles.
Changes were first mooted by the government of former Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and the process is continuing under the new government of Andy Burnham.
Reforms have been outlined to reduce the number of hours staff work before they must be offered guaranteed time.
Hotels, restaurants and hospitality firms have a large share of such contracts.
There has been talk before of having an outright ban.
Supporters — both employers and employees — will underline the flexibility of such contracts and, rather disingenuously, claim that now is not the time to alter the law in a period of high youth unemployment.
The devil is in the details, and the details constantly change. Zero-hours contracts are an invention of business, so it is rum for business to suggest the contracts help safeguard employment
I have written on this before, and I still stand behind this “damned if you don’t, damned if you do” approach.
These so-called gig economy contracts offer few or no employment rights such as sick, injury and vacation pay.
Zero-hours contracts are becoming more popular or are becoming the only route into employment for many.
It is rather like the argument over bank cash machines: Banking institutions have provided fewer of them; fewer people use them as there are fewer ATMs, and the banks claim there is less demand, therefore justifying why they get rid of even more.
The spiral continues.
The May 19 dataset from the Office for National Statistics titled “People in employment on zero hours contracts” shows that between 2021 and today, the number of U.K. workers on such contracts has risen from 881,000 to 1,235,000, a record level.
Today, 16 to 24 year-olds make up the largest block at 475,000 or more than 38% of that latest total. Women make up more than 56%.
Hotel staff, bundled in a category titled “accommodation and food,” make up 28% of the total.
The next update on these numbers comes on Aug. 18.
Business advocacy groups point to increased costs for P&Ls if the law is altered.
The BBC said the government’s own statistics state changes could give businesses an extra bill of up to £2.9 billion ($3.9 billion) a year, which if the percentages above are correct, would mean hoteliers and the like would be responsible for a little more than £1 billion.
The government also said, the BBC added, that it claims the economy would ultimately claim £10 billion due to improved productivity and employee health and wellbeing.
UKHospitality is asking its hotelier members to engage with it, adding that the window for discussion and providing evidence to the government is open until Aug. 25.
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