As the new Labour government has indicated that new rules on zero-hour contracts are in the pipeline, one of the UK’s leading HR and recruitment agencies is recognising the importance of choice and setting the bar for ethical, sustainable and mutually beneficial temporary and flexible work.

In response to the new government’s proposals to limit the use of zero-hours contracts and ban those that are considered to be ‘exploitative’, Gi Group – which supports small, medium and large businesses across the UK with a range of recruitment needs – is drawing attention to the benefits of well managed zero-hours agreements, for both employees and employers.

It’s estimated that around one million workers are currently on zero-hour contracts across the UK, spanning across various industries and job roles. 

While the suggested revised plan avoids an outright ban, the limitations are expected to still impact organisations and businesses will need to find new ways of working in order to remain compliant with UK employment law.

Pete Taylor, Managing Director at Gi Group, said:“This new approach seems to indicate that employees will have the choice to opt to stay on zero-hours, which we welcome – as it will maintain the choice for flexibility preferred by some workers and will support small businesses who have, for example, seasonal or peak periods of activity best served by temporary workers. The path to this newly proposed legislation has been quite confusing, for candidates and customers alike, as Labour originally stated it sought to ban all zero-hours contracts. We know from our vast database of candidates and customers that this would not have been welcome across the board and could have had adverse impacts for some temporary workers and particularly for small businesses.  

“However, the decision to focus on eliminating ‘exploitative’ zero-hours contracts is obviously a sensible one – we just question how the government proposes to define and implement the identification of ‘exploitative’ contracts and whether there is a methodology behind which contracts class as unacceptable and which are judged to be non-exploitative. It’s a very complex question.”  

Jan Stroud a Resource Management Specialist: “When I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) I had to give up a successful career in the financial industry due to my symptoms. Not working had a negative impact on my mental wellbeing, so when I was contacted by Gi Group to help in its driving division, I jumped at the opportunity. Without this flexibility, I simply wouldn’t be able to work and so I am truly grateful for that choice.”