zero hours worker? know your rights

In January of this year, we assisted several workers who had their contracts at TXM terminated after the company unexpectedly went into liquidation.  Members of the RMT union have been pursuing a protective award for affected employees, as the lack of consultation can result in a protective award being made to each employee of up to 90 days’ gross pay.  However, zero-hours workers are not afforded the same level of protection; there is currently no right to redundancy pay or even a redundancy consultation period for them.

One worker estimated that there were more zero-hours workers than employees working for TXM, and the lack of employment rights meant many faced significant financial loss as a result of their employment being unexpectedly terminated.  Of the 13 people who have requested our help, many have between 9 and 13 years of service, collectively amounting to over 100 years.  Despite being on zero-hours contracts, these workers didn’t benefit from the flexibility associated with such work.  They were expected to work 43 out of 56 weekends and were told that taking more than 13 weekends off in a year would have "implications," which they believed meant having their work hours cut.

The impact of this is devastating, with one worker sharing:
“I’ve worked for TMX for 11 years, I’ve built relationships with colleagues and then it was all gone. I’ve been loyal to the company and received no loyalty back. I worry about my collages now, have they managed to find work to support their families after so abruptly losing work?  It felt like the door was slammed in my face, while employees could rely on workers’ rights, I and the other zero hours employees were left with nothing.”

A YouGov poll by ACAS in 2023 found that 3 in 5 workers (61%) are unaware of the rights of people on zero-hours contracts. So, what can you do as a zero-hours worker to secure better protection?  The answer is to know your rights.

Firstly, it’s a myth that you can be a zero-hours worker without a contract that specifically confirms this.  Many unscrupulous employers fail to provide written contracts and later claim that employees have no rights as they were engaged on a zero-hours basis.  Without a contract, your employment status will be determined by a range of factors including whether you are required to provide your services personally, whether you are obligated to accept work when offered, and how much control your employer has over your activities.  Even with a written contract, it’s possible to prove to an Employment Tribunal that you are actually an employee if the terms in the contract don’t reflect the reality of the work you do.

While many individuals on zero-hours contracts are classified as workers, there are numerous examples of zero-hours employees; it is always worth checking your contract to see how you are referred to.  If you are referred to as an employee throughout the contract, with rights outlined that are only given to employees, then you might be an employee with full employment protection.

It's also important to remember that the national minimum/living wage, anti-discrimination legislation, protection from deductions from wages, pension contributions, paid holidays, and rest breaks always apply to zero-hours workers.  This includes protection against detriments suffered as a result of asserting your statutory rights with your employer, with the right to bring a claim in the Employment Tribunal if you are treated badly as a result of complaining to them.  If you were dismissed, while you cannot specifically claim unfair dismissal unless you are an employee, if the termination of your employment can be linked to you asserting one of the relevant statutory rights (or is discriminatory), your dismissal could be automatically unfair, and you can claim equivalent compensation for loss of earnings as a regular employee would in a standard unfair dismissal claim.

The upcoming general election could see further changes to workers’ rights with a change of government. Labour has pledged to make flexible working requests a day-one right for all workers and to ban exploitative zero-hours contracts, ensuring everyone has the right to a contract that reflects the number of hours they regularly work.

To ensure better protection for zero-hours workers, it's crucial to be aware of all the laws. One loophole we've recently explored is the fact that breaks in service for zero-hours workers stop the clock on their continuous service, preventing them from achieving two years of service and gaining further employment rights.  It's important to assess whether you might actually be classified as an employee based on your work patterns, such as working regularly every week and rarely turning down work.  Understanding your employment status and the hallmarks of being an employee can significantly impact your rights and protections.