Zero-hours contract fall

THE number of zero-hours contracts fell by 300,000 in the past year, figures show.

A survey of firms in May found 1.4 million contracts with no minimum hours guarantee, down from 1.7 million.

But they are still 5% of the total of all employment agreements according to the Office for National Statistics.

TUC head Frances O’Grady said: “Let’s not pretend life at the sharp end is easier overnight.”