By Richard Johnstone | 25 April 2014
Ed Miliband has said a future Labour government would end ‘abuses’ of zero-hours contracts by allowing employees to demand fixed hours when they have worked regularly for more than six months.
Speaking at a Labour shadow cabinet meeting in Motherwell in Scotland today, Miliband said Labour would also ensure workers automatically received a fixed-hours contract after a year, unless they chose to opt out. In addition, the party would stop staff being forced to work for only one employer under zero-hours terms and give them a right to compensation when shifts are cancelled at short notice.
Miliband said zero-hours employment had ‘spread like an epidemic across our economy’, as government figures indicated a three-fold increase in their use since 2010. Estimates suggest there could be as many as one million people on these contracts across the UK, he added.
‘Sometimes, they can provide short-term flexibility for employers and employees alike,’ Miliband said. ‘But we know most employers don’t use them and for good reasons: the widespread use of zero-hours contracts is incompatible with building a loyal, skilled and productive workforce.
‘And we also know a minority of employers are misusing zero-hours contracts as a crude way of cutting costs or managing staff.’
Too many people have been left not knowing how much they will work from one week to the next, leaving them unable to plan for the future, he added.
‘We’ll put that right by ensuring employees who have worked regular hours get a regular contract and by banning the worst abuses of the system like people being required to be on call all hours of the day for one employer without any guarantee of work,’ he said.
These reforms have been recommended by a review of the controversial contracts commissioned by the party from Norman Pickavance, a former human resources director at supermarket chain Morrisons.
Miliband said the proposed action also showed the benefits of the United Kingdom as he called for Scotland to reject independence in the referendum being held on September 18.
If Scotland were to become independent, it would be harder to end the abuse of zero-hours contracts in both Scotland and the UK, he insisted.
‘Once again, this shows the truth: we can best deliver social justice for working families by working together across the UK with a Labour government in Westminster and a Labour government in Holyrood.’
