Zero-Hours Contracts: Your Rights

Despite the name, a zero-hours contract does not mean zero rights. Workers (as opposed to employees) on zero-hours contracts are entitled to:

• National Minimum Wage (or National Living Wage): For every hour worked. Your employer cannot underpay on the grounds that your hours vary.
• Paid holiday: Accrued at 12.07% of hours worked. For every hour you work, you accrue approximately 7.24 minutes of paid holiday entitlement.
• Rest breaks: A 20-minute rest break for shifts over six hours, 11 hours of daily rest, and a minimum 24 hours' weekly rest.
• Protection from unlawful discrimination: Under the Equality Act 2010, you cannot be treated less favourably because of a protected characteristic.
• Whistleblowing protection: If you raise a protected disclosure, you cannot be dismissed or treated detrimentally because of it.

Note that some of these rights apply to workers, while others (such as unfair dismissal rights) are reserved for employees. Your employment status determines which rights apply — see our guide on employee vs worker status for more detail.

The Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015 made exclusivity clauses in zero-hours contracts unenforceable. An exclusivity clause is one that prevents you from working for another employer while on a zero-hours contract. Such clauses are void — you cannot be contractually bound to work only for your zero-hours employer when they may give you no work at all.

Furthermore, it is unlawful for your employer to dismiss you or treat you detrimentally for breaching an exclusivity clause. If you are dismissed or penalised for working elsewhere while on a zero-hours contract, you may have a claim for unfair dismissal (if you have employee status) or for a detriment claim (if you are a worker).

If your employer has inserted an exclusivity clause in your contract, you can ignore it — it is not binding. If they take action against you for working elsewhere, seek advice from Acas or Citizens Advice.

The Employment Rights Act 2023 (building on earlier consultation) is introducing a right for zero-hours workers to request a contract that reflects the hours they actually work. After a qualifying period — expected to be 12 weeks — workers will be able to request that their contract be varied to reflect their regular working pattern.

This right does not force employers to guarantee hours, but it requires them to consider requests seriously and respond within a prescribed timescale. Employers can only refuse on specific business grounds.

Additionally, reforms are introducing a right to reasonable notice of shifts and to compensation if a shift is cancelled at short notice. Check the current government guidance for the latest implementation timetable, as these reforms are being rolled out in phases.

The Workers (Predictable Terms and Conditions) Act 2023 received Royal Assent in September 2023 and is a significant development for zero-hours and variable-hours workers. When fully commenced, it will give workers and agency workers a statutory right to request a predictable working pattern from their employer.

The right applies to workers who have a pattern of work that lacks certainty in terms of the hours they work, the times at which they work, or whether they work at all in a given period. This directly targets the uncertainty at the heart of zero-hours arrangements. Key features of the right include:

• Who can request: Workers who have been engaged for at least 26 weeks and whose existing working pattern is uncertain can make a request for predictable terms. Agency workers with 26 weeks of continuous engagement with the same hirer can also request predictability.
• What can be requested: A worker can request changes to their hours, times of work, or the period during which they are required to be available to work. The request must specify the desired pattern and the date from which it should apply.
• Employer response: The employer must deal with the request in a reasonable manner and notify the worker of their decision within one month. They can only refuse on specific statutory grounds — for example, where the predictable working pattern would have a detrimental effect on the employer's ability to meet customer demand, or would have a detrimental impact on planned structural changes.
• Limits on requests: Workers can make a maximum of two requests in any 12-month period.
• Enforcement: Workers who believe their employer has failed to comply with the right can bring a claim to the Employment Tribunal. The Tribunal can make a declaration and award compensation.

This Act works alongside — not instead of — the broader Employment Rights Bill reforms, which are further strengthening rights around guaranteed hours and shift notice. The interaction between the two pieces of legislation is complex and developing, so check the current government guidance and Acas website for the most up-to-date implementation status. The 2023 Act represents a meaningful shift in the legal framework for zero-hours workers — from a position where unpredictability was entirely at the employer's discretion, to one where workers have a formal mechanism to seek stability.