Changes to zero hours workers’ holiday pay entitlements are afoot, following a Supreme Court ruling that branded previous practices unlawful.
HR teams in businesses that use zero hours workers will need to establish a new approach to working out holiday pay entitlement as a matter of urgency. In 2022, there was an estimated 1.03 million people in the UK on zero hours contracts, up from 919,000 the previous year. Almost a quarter of the workers in the accommodation and food sectors were on zero hours contracts in the last year, while 20 per cent of workers in health and social care were working under zero hours obligations.
What are zero hours workers?
Zero hours contracts have been popular with businesses in many sectors but there are definitely areas where they are more commonplace, such as hospitality, health and social care, and logistics. Businesses with seasonal peaks and dips are also generally more likely to make use of casual labour on a zero hours commitment.
Zero hours workers have no set hours and businesses are under no obligation to offer them hours, making them an attractive solution to seasonal rush periods like Christmas or major sporting events which see pubs, bars, hotels and clubs heat up in terms of footfall. They are also well used by the care sector which relies on a fluid workforce to meet changing demands.
Almost a fifth of zero hours workers say that they have been working for their employer for five years or longer, implying that zero hours...
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