Zero hours workers could get guaranteed contracts — here is what the consultation proposes
Workers on zero hours contracts could be entitled to guaranteed hours and paid compensation for cancelled shifts under government reforms now out for consultation.
The Department for Business and Trade launched the consultation on Tuesday 2 June, as part of its Employment Rights Act commitments.
The changes would give workers the right to a contract reflecting their regular hours, reasonable notice of shifts, and a payment if shifts are cancelled, moved or cut short at short notice.
The government says the reforms would benefit more than 18 million people who currently face uncertainty over their weekly hours and earnings.
It also says workers in some of the most deprived areas could save up to £600 a year from reduced hidden costs of insecure work, though both figures are the government’s own.
Workers who prefer the flexibility of a zero hours arrangement would still be able to keep one under the proposals.
The consultation, which closes on 25 August 2026, asks employers and workers about potential hours thresholds that would trigger the right to a guaranteed hours contract.
Business Secretary Peter Kyle said: “It’s not right that people can work regular hours but still have no certainty about their pay from week to week.”
He said: “Banning exploitative zero hours contracts is totemic because this government believes that people should be treated with dignity and respect at work.”
The TUC called on the government to implement the rights in full, warning that a watered-down approach could create a new race to the bottom where employers offer contracts set at an inadequate legal minimum.
TUC General Secretary Paul Nowak said: “For too long, insecure work has held back our economy, leaving workers worried sick about not getting enough hours to pay the bills.”
He said: “Workers should know how much they’ll be earning from week to week instead of being at the whim of a bad employer who could cut shifts last minute.”
The British Retail Consortium urged caution, saying good employers should not face extra costs and rules designed to target bad ones.
Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the BRC, said: “With over a million young people out of work or education, government cannot afford to get this wrong.”
She said: “Retail is a lifeline into work for hundreds of thousands of young people each year. But if government piles on cost and risk, many of those entry-level jobs won’t be there in future.”
The consultation is open to workers, employers and other organisations and can be found on GOV.UK.
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