Government urged to deliver crackdown on zero-hours contracts

The Government is being urged to deliver a promised crackdown on zero-hours contracts, amid “baseless myths” from those opposed to the move.

TUC general secretary Paul Nowak will say that some business lobbyists should be “faced down”, arguing that the case for ending insecure and variable hours contracts was overwhelming.

Ahead of the opening day of the TUC Congress in Brighton, Mr Nowak will tell a press conference that employer organisations, especially those which represent sectors where zero-hours and variable-hours workers are overrepresented, like hospitality, have been “loudly campaigning” against the Government’s promise to end exploitative zero-hours contacts.

Mr Nowak said: “It’s time for government to face down the business lobbyists and deliver its zero-hours crackdown in full.

“Time and time again, we hear baseless myths from the usual suspects, and too often the actual costs to workers is ignored in favour of the hypothetical costs to bad bosses.

“Let’s remember what this is all about – low-paid precarious workers who don’t know how much they’ll be earning from week to week or the hours they’ll be working.

“Good employers have nothing to fear from these new rights. This will level the playing field for them and stop the cowboys.”

A Government spokesperson said: “We are absolutely committed to ending exploitative zero-hours contracts, where workers bear all the financial risk when hours, shifts and earnings are unpredictable.

“These reforms will give workers in every postcode greater income security and predictability of hours.

“We have had extensive engagement with trade unions and businesses to get the detail right and will use the evidence from the consultation to ensure this works in the real world.”