What is Zero Hour Contract: Reasons for Using Zero Hour Contracts

WHAT IS ZERO HOUR CONTRACT AND WHY?
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1 Introduction
Zero hour contracts are work contracts where there exists no obligation for the employers to provide work and minimum working hours, or for workers to undertake any work given to them. Under the zero hour contracts, the worker is paid only for the hours work is carried out. Therefore, there are two major tenets of zero hour contracts: (i) the employer does not have obligations to give minimum working hours, and (ii) the worker does not also have obligations to accept or take any work offered to him or her (McGaughey, n.d.). Though the concept of zero hour contracts has been the preserve of the ‘arty’ careers, many sectors of the economy have agreed to utilize the concept increasingly (Mayor, 2001). However, zero hour contracts are not without challenges; indeed, many employers have taken the concept to either reward or reprimand workers for any reason or no reason, respectively. Nonetheless, the concept is regarded as useful, especially for those sectors of the economy where labour flexibility is needed; additionally, zero hour contracts are useful in sectors where work flow is unpredictable most of the times. In such cases, the employers do not find it logical to employ workers on full-time basis; rather, they find it profitable and viable to have workers operate as and when there is work (Gerlach and Stephan, 2008).
2 Reasons for Using Zero Hour Contracts
Initially, zero hour contracts were utilized by few economic sectors. However, their use has increased recently – partly owing to their promotion by world class business leaders who tend to be the main private sector investors. Currently, these zero hour contracts are in use in several sectors of the economy including healthcare, agriculture, education, retail, and hospitality industries (Picchio, 2008). In the United Kingdom, 60 per cent of all workers on zero hour contracts claim that they are happy with the flexibility that the contract provides. A labour survey conducted by the Office for National Statistics in the UK from October to December 2012 showed that approximately 200,000 workers were on the zero hour contracts. This figure represented an estimated 0.7% of the total UK workforce. In the same survey, 38% of the workers on zero hour contracts were aged 25 and below. These workers are mostly students who appear att...