Zero hours contracts in spotlight

As we reported a few weeks ago there is currently a great deal of focus on zero hours contracts, with a review underway by Business Secretary Vince Cable.

Surprisingly for what many would consider such a mundane topic, the media seemed to have bumped the story up the headlines today, with the BBC reporting that up to 4% of the workforce could be engaged on zero-hours contracts.  It is not known whether this statistic includes agency workers, or workers working for an umbrella company.  For an opposing view of the economic benefits, the Independent is also running an article.

The flexibility of this type of contract has been acknowledged all round, so an outright ban appears unlikely – however this is definitely ‘one to watch’ for umbrella companies, agencies and engagers of casual labour.  As Evan Davis queried on Radio 4 this morning: “why don’t they simply all go freelance?”