As Christmas approaches, it is worth bearing in mind the current controversy surrounding the issue of zero-hour contracts and the fact they can leave workers with little security, uncertainty about earnings and vulnerable to exploitation.
A zero-hours contract means an employer does not guarantee to provide work and only pays for the work actually carried out. The worker is expected to remain available when or if called on by their employer, often at short notice. Under this type of contract, the employer is not legally obliged to provide either a guaranteed or minimum number of hours of times of work. Many such contracts also prevent the worker from working for other organisations.
However, in practice, a significant percentage of workers engaged under zero-hour contracts work regular hours for the same employer, but with limited access to employment rights, lower wages and no job security. These types of contract are often used in the retail and hospitability industries to meet seasonal work demands. Currently, the amount of zero-hour contracts in the UK has reached 1.4 million. Although we have no similar statistics as to the extent of their use by the Isle of Man private sector we understand the public sector uses them on a regular basis.
Download the full article here: Storm surrounding seasonal staff