Labour anger over school leavers in low-paid work
Scottish Parliament Information Centre revealed one in 12 people under 25 was on a zero-hours contract, compared to one in 50 people aged between 25 and 64.
The research, commissioned by Scottish Labour, led to criticism of First Minister Nicola Sturgeon’s claim that 93.3 per cent of school leavers went on to a positive destination.
Hepburn’s letter states: “Initial discussions with HMRC have highlighted they also face challenges in identifying those on zero-hours contracts in their records.
“These technical limitations mean we are unable to robustly identify those on zero-hours contracts.”
Hepburn said yesterday: “Mr Gray knows full well that the Scottish Government oppose exploitative zero-hours contracts.
“The Scottish Government don’t have responsibility for employment law, which was something Mr Gray actively opposed when he was a member of the Smi th Commission looking at enhanced devolved powers.
“He should read my letter again. I have set out that under the arrangements in place at present there are difficulties in trying to determine precisely how many young people are employed on such a basis, but I am committed to working towards trying to ensure we can do so.”
It’s a tick-box exercise to get a positive headline