Zero Hours Contracts

Zero Hours Contracts – Rights for Workers and Employers

A zero-hours contract is an arrangement under which an employer does not guarantee a minimum number of working hours. These contracts remain lawful in the UK, but workers and employers still have important legal rights and responsibilities. Zero-hours arrangements are commonly used where demand varies, including hospitality, leisure, care and other service industries. They can provide flexibility, but problems can arise where workers have little certainty about their income or when they will be required to work.

What Is a Zero-Hours Contract?

There is no single statutory form of zero-hours contract. Broadly, it is an arrangement where there are no guaranteed minimum hours and work is offered as and when it becomes available. The precise legal rights of someone working under a zero-hours arrangement depend on their employment status. A person may legally be an employee, a worker or, in some circumstances, genuinely self-employed. The contract wording matters, but the reality of the working relationship also matters.

Do Zero-Hours Workers Have Employment Rights?

Yes. A zero-hours contract does not remove basic employment protections. Depending on employment status, rights can include:

• Payment of at least the National Minimum Wage or National Living Wage;


• Paid annual leave;


• Rest breaks and limits on working time;


• Protection against unlawful deductions from wages;


• Protection from unlawful discrimination;


• Protection for whistleblowing; and


• Additional employment rights where the individual has employee status.

Holiday Pay

Workers on zero-hours contracts are entitled to statutory paid holiday. The amount of holiday and the way holiday pay is calculated will depend on the individual's working pattern and applicable holiday-pay rules. Employers should keep accurate records of hours worked, holiday accrued and holiday taken.

National Minimum Wage

A zero-hours worker must receive at least the applicable statutory minimum wage for working time covered by the minimum wage rules. Employers cannot use the absence of guaranteed hours to avoid minimum wage obligations.

Exclusivity Clauses

An employer cannot generally prevent a zero-hours worker from working for another employer simply because their contract contains an exclusivity clause. Rules also protect certain low-income workers whose guaranteed weekly income falls below the statutory threshold from restrictions preventing them from working elsewhere.

Must a Worker Accept Work?

This depends on the agreement and the true nature of the relationship. A typical zero-hours arrangement does not guarantee that the employer will offer work and may not require the individual to accept every shift offered. Workers should check their contract carefully, particularly provisions dealing with availability, refusing work, cancelling shifts and notice.

Cancellation of Shifts

Short-notice cancellation can create serious financial uncertainty for workers. Employers should make their arrangements for offering, changing and cancelling shifts clear. The Employment Rights Act 2025 provides for new rights concerning guaranteed hours, reasonable notice of shifts and payments where shifts are cancelled, moved or curtailed at short notice. These substantive rights have not yet taken effect and will depend on detailed regulations and commencement arrangements.

Guaranteed Hours Reforms

The Employment Rights Act 2025 establishes a framework intended to give qualifying zero-hours and low-hours workers the right to be offered guaranteed hours reflecting the hours they regularly work over a reference period. The legislation also provides for reasonable notice of shifts and payments where shifts are cancelled, moved or curtailed at short notice, with relevant protections intended to extend to qualifying agency workers.

The government has consulted on the detailed operation of these rights, including eligibility and the reference period. The measures have not yet taken effect and further regulations are required. Workers and employers should therefore check the current position rather than assuming that the new guaranteed-hours or shift-notice rights already apply.

Employment Status

Employment status is particularly important with zero-hours arrangements. An employee generally has the widest range of employment rights, including potential rights relating to unfair dismissal, redundancy and family leave where the relevant statutory conditions are satisfied. A worker has important rights including minimum wage, holiday pay and discrimination protection but does not necessarily have all the rights available to an employee. A tribunal will consider the actual relationship between the parties and not merely the label used in the written contract.

Employment Tribunal Time Limits

Employment Tribunal time limits changed on 1 October 2026. For most claims where the problem complained about happened on or after 1 October 2026, the normal time limit is now six months. Where the relevant problem occurred before 1 October 2026, the previous three-month time limit generally continues to apply.

There are exceptions and special rules for particular claims, and calculating the deadline can be complicated where conduct continued over a period of time. Before bringing most Employment Tribunal claims, the claimant must notify Acas. Acas Early Conciliation affects the applicable limitation period, but a worker should not delay seeking advice because tribunals generally enforce deadlines strictly.

What Should Workers Check?

Before accepting a zero-hours arrangement, it is sensible to establish:

• How much work is normally available;


• How shifts are offered;


• How much notice is normally given;


• What happens if a shift is cancelled;


• Whether there is any obligation to accept offered work;


• How holiday entitlement and holiday pay are calculated; and


• Whether the contract contains restrictions on working elsewhere.

Advice for Employers

Employers using zero-hours arrangements should ensure contracts accurately reflect the working relationship and that managers understand the rights applying to workers and employees. Maintain records of working hours, wages, holiday and shift arrangements, and keep contracts and procedures under review as the Employment Rights Act 2025 reforms are brought into force.

Getting Legal Advice

If there is a dispute about employment status, pay, holiday entitlement, cancelled shifts, discrimination, dismissal or contractual rights, an employment law solicitor can advise on the individual's legal status and the remedies available. Because Employment Tribunal claims are subject to strict deadlines, you should seek advice promptly.

Solicitors.com is not a firm of solicitors. This article is provided for general information only and does not constitute legal advice. You should seek advice from a suitably qualified solicitor about your individual circumstances.