zero hour contracts
- Thread starter GAC
- Start date
Social care is a disgrace. They often get minimum wage and increasingly more and more jobs are going to zero hours contracts. Zero hour contracts need to be banned by law. I know somebody on a zero hour contract. He was told when he started although it was a zero hour contract he would get full time hours. Some weeks he only gets 20 hours.
What employers who give out zero hour contracts do is employ more people than the really need. They do this to cover sickness and holidays. It results in employees not getting enough paid hours each week because of over staffing.
I started working again recently doing 5 day weeks (37.5hours) and i'm on zero hour.. Didn't think much of it at the time though. What rights have i lost compared to a standard contract? i still get holiday pay - which i thought was the law regardless? :S
Man of Honour
- Joined
- 29 Mar 2003
- Posts
- 57,596
- Location
- Stoke on Trent
Our zero hero staff definitely don't get holiday pay
![[TW]Fox](/data/man-of-honor/2009.png){kind=avatar}
Yes they do, statutary holiday entitlement is based on hours worked not hours contracted to work.
reading some of the replies and it just shows how much of a mess employment law and the enforcement of it is in now. funny how many contradicting views there are though, and got to say im not one bit surprised.
iv worked via agencies on and off while i worked on the bins and the abuse of the staff was rife, from trying to get out of ppe provision to trying to not pay any tax on anyone and have you as self employed, but forget to actually tell you that. its a shambles and both labour and now the condem gov have been hopeless at doing anything about it.
the temporary working time directive that came in via the eu should have sorted a lot of issues out but of course its not a fix as its just got too much wiggle room for the agencies and companies to work out ways around. the favorite one here is to have you work 12 weeks and then take a couple of weeks off before they have you back in so your time resets. and because they are doing nothing wrong no one can do anything about it.
as for what rights you should and do get on zero hour contracts its like a bad comedy sketch with how some people see them as lazy workers who dont deserve the pay and conditions and others who seem to think they get them all. every zero hour contract iv looked in to the last few weeks in the security industry has basically been the lower end, you get paid the hours you work and thats that. hell one of them even claimed if i worked there i would have to buy my own ppe and uniform (for each site i had to work, different uniforms for different shopping centres).
as for those who see the zero hour people they have employed themselves or work with as lazy layabouts, do you wonder why. they are on the worst contracts going and know no matter how hard they work they will never get taken on and could be out of work at the drop of a hat, not exactly inspiring is it. sure for students and the like its great but for people who have had to take it as that's all there is its less than ideal especially with the abuse of the system admitted to in this thread.
iv worked via agencies on and off while i worked on the bins and the abuse of the staff was rife, from trying to get out of ppe provision to trying to not pay any tax on anyone and have you as self employed, but forget to actually tell you that. its a shambles and both labour and now the condem gov have been hopeless at doing anything about it.
the temporary working time directive that came in via the eu should have sorted a lot of issues out but of course its not a fix as its just got too much wiggle room for the agencies and companies to work out ways around. the favorite one here is to have you work 12 weeks and then take a couple of weeks off before they have you back in so your time resets. and because they are doing nothing wrong no one can do anything about it.
as for what rights you should and do get on zero hour contracts its like a bad comedy sketch with how some people see them as lazy workers who dont deserve the pay and conditions and others who seem to think they get them all. every zero hour contract iv looked in to the last few weeks in the security industry has basically been the lower end, you get paid the hours you work and thats that. hell one of them even claimed if i worked there i would have to buy my own ppe and uniform (for each site i had to work, different uniforms for different shopping centres).
as for those who see the zero hour people they have employed themselves or work with as lazy layabouts, do you wonder why. they are on the worst contracts going and know no matter how hard they work they will never get taken on and could be out of work at the drop of a hat, not exactly inspiring is it. sure for students and the like its great but for people who have had to take it as that's all there is its less than ideal especially with the abuse of the system admitted to in this thread.
100% Agree. It works both ways, but many people don't see it like that. The employee can use it for flexibility as much as the employer.
Exactly, it's the abuse of them by some unscrupulous companies not 0-hour contracts that are the problem.
While I don't know the ins and outs I'm inclined to believe that the Buckingham Palace 0 hour contracts are probably perfect for most of the summer employees working there.
my missus is on a zero hour contract but with holiday pay and sick pay based on averages
It has suited us on a couple of occasions when she has wanted more holiday than her entitlement, she asks for unpaid leave, they say no, she says I will just work my contracted hours then, they have no answer to that
It has suited us on a couple of occasions when she has wanted more holiday than her entitlement, she asks for unpaid leave, they say no, she says I will just work my contracted hours then, they have no answer to that
Man of Honour
- Joined
- 29 Mar 2003
- Posts
- 57,596
- Location
- Stoke on Trent
[TW]Fox;24692978 said:
No they don't, what gives you the right to tell me they do?
Time and again I've heard the same story from different staff when it comes to holidays, if they have time off they don't get paid.
the gov seems to think otherwise. but again no one seems to enforce half of this stuff.
https://www.gov.uk/holiday-entitlement-rights
I temp for our local council (3 years now!). About 1/2 of the workforce are agency staff in our department (IT).
Depending on the agency we got the job through, some of us get holiday pay and some of us don't. The ones who don't get a higher hourly rate than those of us who do, so it's swings and roundabouts.
They should do and they can screw your employer for stat holiday pay based on hours worked, if your zero hour staff are working they are entitled to statutory holiday pay pro-rata, I think it's 2. Something days a month at full time equivalent
either way its illegal to tell them they dont get any it seems.
well tell the gov then because that page i linked says otherwise. i know from my own experience that agencies can be a tad short on telling all of the facts when it comes to holiday and ppe entitlement. if they have told them they get paid leave then they wont take it. if they refuse to pay them after being asked then that's bang out of order and illegal according to that website.
This
Even agency's have to do this... You usually get Payment at the end of the business year or when you leave
If you're employed or a temporary worker the holiday pay is pro rata,
If you are a contractor ie (selling a service to a client) then you just get what you agree to provide a specific function /service for , no sick no Holliday no nothing. Your tax an national insurance also comes out of your top line.
Contractors are generally paid quite a bit more for like for like service provision compared to employees and temporary workers due to the above.
I think the key thing here is companies taking advantage of this, a few years back I got offered an IT contract for £9 per hour, which after tax and expense would be close to minimum wage. I told them I would be looking at twice that the or I wasn't interested.. They then tried to tell me they were really keen, I said I bet you are! I and politely declined!
If you are a contractor ie (selling a service to a client) then you just get what you agree to provide a specific function /service for , no sick no Holliday no nothing. Your tax an national insurance also comes out of your top line.
Contractors are generally paid quite a bit more for like for like service provision compared to employees and temporary workers due to the above.
I think the key thing here is companies taking advantage of this, a few years back I got offered an IT contract for £9 per hour, which after tax and expense would be close to minimum wage. I told them I would be looking at twice that the or I wasn't interested.. They then tried to tell me they were really keen, I said I bet you are! I and politely declined!
Man of Honour
- Joined
- 29 Mar 2003
- Posts
- 57,596
- Location
- Stoke on Trent
Just had a reply on The Facebooks from a friend on Zero Hours.
He definitely doesn't get holiday pay but 'thinks' he gets more per hour than the several staff on a full time contract which doesn't go down too well.
He also says he gets sick pay but it is very risky taking time off because they'll just use somebody else.
How would they work sick pay out if he never knows what he is doing from week to week?
He definitely doesn't get holiday pay but 'thinks' he gets more per hour than the several staff on a full time contract which doesn't go down too well.
He also says he gets sick pay but it is very risky taking time off because they'll just use somebody else.
How would they work sick pay out if he never knows what he is doing from week to week?
They are legally entitled to holiday pay. Holiday entitlement is acrued through hours worked and not hours contracted to work.
If they don't get it I would suggest this is because they don't realise they are entitled to it and neither does whoever they asked about it.