A zero hours contract is a type of employment or worker contract under which the employer is not obliged to offer a minimum number of hours, and the worker is not obliged to accept any hours offered. They are used legitimately in sectors with variable demand including hospitality, retail, care, events, and casual labour.
Important change incoming: The Employment Rights Act 2025 includes provisions requiring employers to offer guaranteed hours contracts to qualifying workers. The detail of these provisions and their commencement date are subject to further secondary legislation. Employers using zero hours contracts should monitor developments closely in 2026-2027.
Regardless of the hours offered, zero hours workers already have significant legal rights:
Since May 2015, exclusivity clauses in zero hours contracts are unenforceable. You cannot prevent a zero hours worker from working for another employer during periods when you have not offered them work. Dismissing or penalising someone for working elsewhere is unlawful: employees can claim automatically unfair dismissal, and workers can claim for detriment.
Employment status matters: Many zero hours workers are classified as workers rather than employees, which gives them fewer rights. However, if a zero hours person works regular, consistent hours with an expectation of ongoing work, they may be an employee in law regardless of what the contract says. Employment tribunals look at the reality of the relationship, not the label.
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