Almost 700,000 people in UK have zero-hours contract as main job

[Pete]

Nearly 700,000 people are on zero-hours contracts in their main job - a rise of more than 100,000 on a year ago - according to new official figures. 


The rise is likely to trigger renewed debate over the widespread use of contracts that offer no guarantee of hours and only those benefits guaranteed by law, such as holiday pay.

What a blinding mess the Nasty party have created with their obsession with money - greedy bunch of monsters.

http://bit.ly/1vyV6wH

[Old Cruser]

It needs making illegal, it's no good to any employee, only to the businesses who operate this 

[Pete]

And David Cameron's unemployment figures...

[simondjuk]

Im asking as I dont know the answer so please dont shout at me...

If someone takes a job that is 'zero hour', dont they know that at the time of signing a contract of employment?

[simondjuk]

But if the contract does state zero hours, how can the people who signed it complain about it?

[Pete]

>> But if the contract does state zero hours, how can the people who signed it complain about it?

Because if they don't sign, they would lose unemployment benefit? Don't know for sure.

[therealjr]

Must admit the whole notion of zero hours contracts puzzle me.
if they are so good and meet the needs of business to cope with a rapidly changing world then why isnt everyone on one.
Think about it
Slacker working for DCC could be on a zero hours contract.
There's no jobs to supervise this week so he can stay at home but next week when it snows and they want him in supervising the gritting crews he can work 80 hours (flat hourly rate of course none of this overtime rubbish).

My step daughter put herself through uni waitressing at various establishments.
Never ceased to amaze me the number of times she was scheduled in only to get a phone call an hour or so before her start time to say it was dead quiet and she wasnt needed. To be followed next time by being told at the end of her shift that they were still rammed and needed her to stop.
It's cheap labour dressed up as good for business, the good bit for business being low costs and greater profits.

and before anyone asks Sainsburys minimum contract is 12 hours.

[Old Cruser]

Must admit the whole notion of zero hours contracts puzzle me.
if they are so good and meet the needs of business to cope with a rapidly changing world then why isnt everyone on one.
Think about it
Slacker working for DCC could be on a zero hours contract.
There's no jobs to supervise this week so he can stay at home but next week when it snows and they want him in supervising the gritting crews he can work 80 hours (flat hourly rate of course none of this overtime rubbish).

My step daughter put herself through uni waitressing at various establishments.
Never ceased to amaze me the number of times she was scheduled in only to get a phone call an hour or so before her start time to say it was dead quiet and she wasnt needed. To be followed next time by being told at the end of her shift that they were still rammed and needed her to stop.
It's cheap labour dressed up as good for business, the good bit for business being low costs and greater profits.

and before anyone asks Sainsburys minimum contract is 12 hours.

and there is another problem.
A worker takes a 12 hour contract thinking ok I'll look for another job to make up my hours.
Only thing is when the business gets busy it doesn't go down too well when the worker refuses to do extra hours because they have their other job.
It happens I have seen it.

[therealjr]

The other problem OC is that employers tend to pigeon hole people. I've spoken to an agency who refused to put me forward for an office managers job because I hadn't got relevant experience in the last two years. When I asked her what she thought I did for a living she said retail in a supermarket, the inference being I spent my time stacking shelves and sitting on a checkout. When I pointed out I probably did more office work than most of the candidates she had put through the scepticism in her voice was plain to hear

[Old Cruser]

It shows how little they know about retail JR.
My first introduction to computers was in retail. I ran the card dept and knowledge of using their system was needed.
My work as a supervisor in a coffee bar gave me experience of ordering, invoicing etc etc.

There's more to some jobs than people realise.

Retail staff I know have been treated shabbily at times, but this has now extended to other work places - Zero no contract hours need stopping

[simondjuk]

I think what's happening here is anyone on the dole has basically no right to turn down a job regardless if it is any good to them. Its a case of take the job or no dole money for who knows when. In short take zero contract or no money at all .

If thats the case, it makes sense now.  Cheers niche

[Slacker]

There are different types of zero hours contract though UKIP is trying to blur the lines by attacking councils as hypocritical.

There are the exploitative ones as used by companies such as  Sports Direct. The staff are on such contracts where they just get paid for the hours they work but it is their main form of employment and they are expected to be available when required and not do any other hours and they fall into a poverty trap because it is trick to get benefits in the weeks that they do very few hours.

Councils on the other hand tend to have people such as relief caretakers, leisure attendants, bar staff and other casual workers who mostly do evening work if available but it is not their main employment.

[Old Cruser]

There is always the 'Banking' staff used by care agencies as well, and this is ok for the people who don't need full time employment but for other who do where are the full time jobs?
People stand little chance of pulling out of the poverty trap as things stand now - and why do the employers prefer to only employ part time staff?
Obviously more perks for them to do this!