Zero-hours contracts at record high

NEARLY a million people across the UK are now on zero-hours contracts - putting them in a precarious position during the coronavirus pandemic.

Figures from the Office for National Statistics have revealed that around 974,000 people were on contracts without a minimum number of guaranteed hours at the end of last year.

It is the highest number seen since these figures first began to be collected in 2000.

The figure is up from 844,000 people on zero-hours contracts between October and December 2018, and is four times higher than the 225,000 people on them at the end of 2000.

It means one in every 33 workers is now on a zero-hours contract.

Zero-hours contracts offer little security at the best of times, and there has been a lot of confusion over how these workers will be protected during the coronavirus pandemic.

The good news is that the Employee Furlough Scheme will cover zero-hour contracts, as long as workers are on the PAYE system.

Key workers, such as supermarket workers, who are not self isolating will still be able to keep working but in other cases employers can put zero-hours workers on Furlough.

The government will give employers 80% of a workers salary a month up to £2,500 if they are unable to work.

If you have a variable income, the salary is based on either the income in the same month last year, or the average monthly 201920 tax year earnings - whichever is higher.

If you have been employed for less than a year, it will be based on your average monthly earnings from when you started.

Meanwhile, for zero-hours contract workers who are selfemployed, there is a self-employed support scheme to claim a taxable grant worth 80% of trading profits, up to a maximum of £2,500 per month, for three months (unless extended).

There will also be easier access to benefits to cover a drop in income.

This includes removing the income floor for universal credit and moving the application process to an online and telephone process.

The trade union GMB is campaigning for zero hours contracts to be banned, as has already happened in Ireland and New Zealand.

Tim Roache, GMB General Secretary, said: “Companies are using zero-hours contracts as a business model to avoid their responsibilities to the people who make them their money - these figures show that's on the rise.

“On a zero hours contract you don't know what wage you'll have coming in from week to week, you don't know if you can pay the bills or buy the shopping and you can't say boo to a goose or you won't get any hours the week after.

“People shouldn't have to live like this - zero hours means zero security and zero rights.

“Enough is enough, it's time to follow the successful policies of other countries and ban these contracts once and for all.”