Almost half (45%) of zero-hours contract workers, which is around half a million workers, have been with their current employer for more than two years, echoing similar findings from last year. A staggering one in eight (12%) zero-hours contract workers reported having been with their current employer for more than a decade.
Recent polling by the union body revealed eight in 10 (84%) zero-hours contract workers want regular hours of work, compared to just one in seven (14%) who don’t.
The union body warned that the UK’s insecure work epidemic is “holding workers and the economy back” and said the Employment Rights Bill will deliver “the economic reset working people desperately need”.
The warning comes after criticisms of the Employment Rights Bill from the Conservatives.
The TUC said stronger rights at work and higher growth rates go hand in hand by driving up labour market participation, improving health, raising productivity and boosting demand.
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It said that those arguing against change are ignoring the evidence and the impact that insecure work has on working people’s lives.
‘Insecure work epidemic’
The TUC also found that zero-hours contracts come with a significant pay penalty. Its analysis shows the average zero-hours contract worker typically earns around a third less (£10.68 per hour) than the median hourly rate (£15.69).
The TUC said zero-hours contracts give employers complete control over workers’ hours – and therefore pay – meaning workers don’t know how much they will earn each week. It said this makes it hard for workers to plan their lives, budget and look after their children.
It also makes it harder for workers to challenge unacceptable behaviour by bosses because of concerns about whether they will be penalised by not being allocated hours in the future.
Paul Nowak, TUC’s general secretary, said: “Zero-hours contracts give bosses almost total control of workers’ earning power and hours – making it a nightmare for families to plan budgets and childcare.
“As we have seen with recent scandals, these precarious contracts make it far too easy for managers to bully and harass staff frightened about losing shifts. I would challenge any boss to try and survive for a few months on a zero-hours contract not knowing from week to week how much work they will have – let alone a decade.
“After 14 years of Conservative decline, the era of low rights, low pay and low productivity has been tested to destruction. Those defending the broken status quo are putting their own vested interests ahead of working people’s lives and ignoring the evidence in front of their eyes.
“This insecure work epidemic isn’t just holding back workers, it’s holding back our economy too. Labour’s Employment Rights Bill will crackdown on zero-hours contracts and help end the scourge of insecure work – delivering a much-needed economic reset.”
A recent TUC poll found that three in four (75%) of those polled said they have experienced difficulty meeting living expenses due to not being offered enough hours.
It also found that more than half (52%) of zero-hours contract workers had shifts cancelled with fewer than 24 hours’ notice. Two in three (66%) zero-hours contract workers said they received no compensation for cancelled shifts – with just one in 20 (5%) fully compensated.
