Many workers trapped in zero-hours ‘exploitative’ contracts for years, study says

Most employees on zero-hours or variable contracts stay in insecure roles for at least two years, research suggests.

The Trades Union Congress (TUC) said its analysis disproves assertions that zero-hours positions are primarily sought by students.

The union body condemned "baseless scaremongering" regarding proposed bans on exploitative contracts and rights to guaranteed working hours.

Its study revealed more than half of zero-hours or variable-hour workers report staying with their employer for at least two years, while one in six have stayed for a decade or more.

TUC general secretary Paul Nowak described attempts to weaken new employment protections as "blatant scaremongering", adding: "We are talking 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.”

"This analysis shatters the cynical claim that these are just students with a side hustle who can afford to lose shifts at the drop of a hat. The reality is most of these workers are reliant on their jobs as the main source of their income.”

"That’s why it’s so important that the new Prime Minister ends the scourge of insecure work in Britain and delivers these new rights to guaranteed hours in full.”

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

Joanne Thomas, general secretary of the shopworkers’ union Usdaw, said: "Many of our members are regularly working hours that aren’t guaranteed in their contract, which has a massive impact on their lives.

"The right to a guaranteed-hours contract has the potential to provide much greater security for millions of low-paid workers.

"The Government must deliver this right in full to give people the baseline of security that they were promised in the manifesto."