This Practice Note examines the nature of Zero hours contracts, the implications of their use in relation to employment rights and practical considerations for employers and individuals working under such Contracts.

It does not cover the statutory protections available to workers and employees on zero hours contracts and on lower incomes, relating to unenforceable exclusivity clauses and protection from detriment and unfair dismissal. These are covered separately in Practice Note: Exclusivity clauses—protections for low-income and Zero Hours workers.

In this Practice Note, we use the term ‘employer’ to mean the hiring party in a contract for work, whether or not the individual being hired is an employee or a worker. We generally use the term 'worker' (which includes an 'employee' in the narrow sense) for the individual undertaking the work, unless the use of 'employee' is required in the particular context.

For a sample zero hours contract:

1. •

   for an employee, see Precedent: Clauses—zero hours, which contains clauses to be inserted into Precedent: Employment contract basic version

2. •

   for a worker working on a term-time or seasonal basis on a