Контракт с нулевым рабочим временем в Великобритании

Employment contract with no minimum work time

A zero hour contract is a type of employment contract in United Kingdom labour law, between an employer and an employee whereby the employer is not obliged to provide any minimum number of working hours to the employee. In 2015, employers in the UK were prohibited from offering zero hour contracts that prevented employees from also working for a different employer at the same time. In September 2017, the UK Office for National Statistics estimated that there are over 900,000 workers on zero hours contracts, 2.9% of the employed workforce. In the UK, zero hour contracts are controversial. Trade unions, other worker bodies and newspapers have described them as an exploitation of labour. Employers using zero hours contracts include Sports Direct, McDonald's and Boots.

A 'zero hour contract' is a type of contract between an employer and a worker according to which the employer is not obliged to provide any minimum working hours and the worker is not obliged to accept any work offered. The term 'zero hour contract' is primarily used in the United Kingdom. The employee may sign an agreement to be available for work as and when required, so that no particular number of hours or times of work are specified. Under UK law a distinction is drawn between a mere "worker" and an "employee", an employee having more legal rights than a worker. Whether a person working under a zero hour contract is an employee or a worker can be uncertain; however, even in cases where the plain text of the zero hour contract designates the person as a "worker" courts have inferred an employment relationship based on the mutuality of obligation between employer and employee. Zero hours contracts provide basic social security benefits including maternity/paternity pay, holiday, and health insurance. A zero hour contract may differ from casual work.

In the United Kingdom, under the National Minimum Wage Act 1998, workers operating under a zero hour contract on stand by time, on call time, and downtime must be paid the national minimum wage for hours worked. Prior to the introduction of the Working Time Regulations 1998 and the National Minimum Wage Regulations 1999 zero hour contracts were sometimes used to "clock off" staff during quiet periods while retaining them on site so they could be returned to paid work should the need arise. The National Minimum Wage Regulations require that employers pay the national minimum wage for the time workers are required to be at the workplace even if there is no "work" to do. In the past, some employees working on a zero hour contract have been told that they are required to obtain permission of their employer before accepting other work but this practice has now been banned under UK legislation enacted in May 2015. In Autoclenz Ltd v Belcher, the UK Supreme Court delivered a judgment on workers employed under a zero hour contract. Lord Clarke held, at paragraph 35, that in employment relations which are characterised by inequality of bargaining power, the written terms of a contract may not in truth represent what was the contract in law. In March 2015, the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015 received royal assent. On a date to be appointed, s. 153 of the Act will amend the Employment Rights Act 1996, so that exclusivity terms in zero hours contracts will no longer be enforceable, and regulations may specify other circumstances under which employers may not restrict what other work zero hours workers can do.

In the UK, zero hour contracts are controversial. British business leaders have supported them, stating that they provide a flexible labour market. It is argued they may suit some people such as retirees and students who want occasional earnings and are able to be entirely flexible about when they work. It has been reported that 60% of people on zero hour contracts are happy with the hours they work. Trade union groups and others have raised concerns about exploitation and the use of such contracts by management as a tool to reward or reprimand employees for any reason, meaningful or trivial. They also raise concerns about how workers can adequately assert their employment rights or maintain decent employment relations. A Channel 4 documentary broadcast on 1 August 2013 claimed that Amazon used "controversial" zero hour contracts as a tool to reprimand staff. Workers subject to zero hour contracts are vulnerable to exploitation as they may be denied work at any time for any reason, including declining to respond to a demand to work. A refusal to work in any one instance for any reason can result in a prolonged period of lack of work. Due to the uncertainty of the workers' schedules, zero hour contracts present problems for workers with children due to the difficulty of arranging child care. The rapidly growing use of zero hour contracts was the subject of a series of articles in late July 2013 by The Guardian and as of 2013 was of concern to Parliament. Vince Cable, business secretary of the government, is considering closer regulation of the contracts but has ruled out a ban. Labour MPs Alison McGovern and Andy Sawford have campaigned to ban or better regulate the practice. However, Cineworld, another leading cinema chain that also owns Picturehouse, has come under scrutiny for continuing to use the contract format, with the Ritzy living wage protests at London's Ritzy Cinema especially prominent. In 2020, a campaign called Zero Hours Justice was set up. Led by Ian Hodson, president of the Bakers, Food and Allied Workers Union and backed by Julian Richer, it was launched with the aim of ending zero hours contracts.

The Institute of Directors, a chartered organisation of British business leaders, has defended the contracts as providing a flexible labour market, citing the lack of flexibility in Italy and Spain.

Casual labour contracts in Canada can have "no guaranteed minimum hours," place "no obligation on the employer to provide work", and pay can be "pro rated in line with hours worked." In 2015 in New Zealand, the television show Campbell Live revealed that large corporate hospitality companies such as Burger King and McDonald's, KFC, Starbucks, Pizza Hut, Carl's Jr. (all under Restaurant Brands), Sky City and Hoyts, all use zero hour contracts to reduce costs. On 9 April, Restaurant Brands agreed to do away with zero hours contracts. A bill outlawing zero hour contracts in New Zealand was unanimously passed on 10 March 2016 and went into effect on 1 April.