Zero hours contracts: ONS update

HR180 Ltd is based in the City of Leeds region, Yorkshire, and covers client needs across the UK and internationally too. With our Outsourced HR and HR Consultancy expertise we can literally help you with anything in your business! Take a look at the latest on zero hours contracts and why we think they’re not such a bad idea – for all concerned…

Amongst all the hoo-haa about Sports Direct this last week or so regarding zero hours contracts, the latest report from the Office of National Statistics (ONS), which was published on Thursday, got a little bit put on the back burner.

The business survey is carried out twice-yearly and complemented by estimates from the Labour Force Survey (LFS) – a survey of households – of the number of people who report that they are on a zero hours contract in their main job.

This report contains the latest figures from the LFS covering the quarter to June 2016 with 903,000 people having zero hours conracts as their main job – representing 2.9% of all people in employment. This latest estimate is 156,000 higher than that for the same period in 2015 (747,000 or 2.4% of people in employment). This latest annual change may have been affected by people’s understanding of what a zero hours contract is (ie they didn’t acknowledge it in previous years) but is likely to reflect the growing trend in this type of flexible working.

People on zero hours contracts are more likely to be young, part-time, women or in full-time education when compared with other people in employment and on average someone on a zero hours contract usually works 25 hours a week. Of these people around 1 in 3 (31%) want more hours, with most wanting them in their current job as opposed to a different job which offers more hours. In comparison just 10% of other people in employment wanted more hours.

HR180’s Claire and Ellie put together a video of the reasons why zero hours contracts work for businesses and can best work for employees too. Well worth a watch and a share around your network.

We can help with all your people related issues – from when you’re having a really bad time with a disciplinary matter to getting to grips with future-proofing your business – no matter what your problem is the HR180 Heroes have a solution – get in touch today on 0845 458 5881 or 0113 287 8150.