BIS questions exclusivity and other zero-hours issues in new consultation
19 December 2013
A new government consultation on the use and nature of zero-hours contracts has been launched by business secretary Vince Cable.
Thu, 19 Dec 2013A new government consultation on the use and nature of zero-hours contracts has been launched by business secretary Vince Cable.
The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) is looking for responses to a total of 41 questions aimed at various stakeholders before a 13 March deadline.
According to the consultation description on the gov.uk website: “At this stage, the government has no preferred options. Views are sought in particular on maintaining a fair balance between the flexibility provided by zero-hours contracts and ensuring adequate protection for individuals.”
Some questions are aimed specifically at employers, and others at individuals, while some are addressed to any interested parties. They build on an information-gathering process BIS commenced in June.
BIS highlights two key areas of concern. One is the use of exclusivity clauses preventing staff from working for multiple employers, and the other is the apparent lack of transparency of the contracts from both an employer and employee perspective.
The question of exclusivity was one of several picked up in the recent guidance issued by the CIPD on the matter of zero-hours labour use. It was also the CIPD which found there were likely to be over 1m workers on zero-hours contracts in the UK – although BIS’s consultation today stands by the ONS figure of 250,000.
HR leader Norman Pickavance was commissioned by the Labour Party to conduct a review into the contracts in September. Neither Pickavance nor Labour were immediately available to update recruiter.co.uk on the progress of this.
The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) is looking for responses to a total of 41 questions aimed at various stakeholders before a 13 March deadline.
According to the consultation description on the gov.uk website: “At this stage, the government has no preferred options. Views are sought in particular on maintaining a fair balance between the flexibility provided by zero-hours contracts and ensuring adequate protection for individuals.”
Some questions are aimed specifically at employers, and others at individuals, while some are addressed to any interested parties. They build on an information-gathering process BIS commenced in June.
BIS highlights two key areas of concern. One is the use of exclusivity clauses preventing staff from working for multiple employers, and the other is the apparent lack of transparency of the contracts from both an employer and employee perspective.
The question of exclusivity was one of several picked up in the recent guidance issued by the CIPD on the matter of zero-hours labour use. It was also the CIPD which found there were likely to be over 1m workers on zero-hours contracts in the UK – although BIS’s consultation today stands by the ONS figure of 250,000.
HR leader Norman Pickavance was commissioned by the Labour Party to conduct a review into the contracts in September. Neither Pickavance nor Labour were immediately available to update recruiter.co.uk on the progress of this.
