Huge rise in number of people working zero-hours contracts

THE number of people on zero-hours contracts in the East Midlands has jumped by more than 40% in a year.

There were 92,000 people employed on the contracts during April to June 2019, a 41% rise from 65,000 in the same period in 2018.

The proportion of people on the contracts has also risen, from 2.9% of all employees in 2018 to 3.9% in 2019, the highest rate in the UK.

Across the UK, the number of people employed on zero-hours contracts in their main job during April to June was 896,000. This latest estimate is 115,000 higher than the figure in the same three months in 2018 (781,000), a 15% rise, according to the Office for National Statistics. It is also the highest number for this quarter since 904,000 people on zero-hours contracts in April to June 2016.

TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said: “With wages not yet recovered from the financial crisis, workers now face the risk of a new recession. And although full-time employment is up, the fall in vacancies is a worrying sign.

“A no-deal Brexit would shrink the economy, wipe out jobs and hold back pay. No responsible Prime Minister would ever consider causing that kind of crisis.

“The Government must protect jobs and pay by ruling out a no-deal Brexit and putting urgent investment into public services to support growth.“

She added: “It’s no surprise zerohours contracts are rising when ministers have failed to crack down on unfair employment practices. The government must ban zero-hours contracts so that all workers can have solid jobs with full workers’ rights.”

People on zero-hours contracts are more likely to be young, parttime, women, or in full-time education when compared with other people in employment.

One in 11 people aged 16 to 24 are on zero-hours contracts, 8.8%, but the next group most likely to be on these contracts are those aged 65 and over (4%). For women, 3.1% are on zero hour contracts compared to 2.4% of men in employment.