The changes to zero hours contracts UK employers are facing represent the biggest shift in how flexible staff are engaged for some time. They stem from the Employment Rights Act 2025, they are expected to take effect during 2027, and they will require most businesses that use zero hours or low hours arrangements to change the way they schedule work, keep records, and offer hours. Understanding what is coming, and when, allows employers to prepare in good time and avoids costly mistakes.
Helping small businesses stay ahead of reform, and keeping them tribunal-free in the process, is the purpose GAP HR was built to fulfil. Since 2003, we have supported owner-managed businesses through successive waves of employment law change.
Call us now on 01491 598 600 or Click Here to Make An Enquiry and we will be delighted to help you.
Are Zero Hours Contracts Being Banned?
No. Zero hours contracts remain lawful, and genuinely flexible arrangements that suit both employer and worker will still be permitted. A worker who values the flexibility of a zero hours arrangement will be able to keep it.
What is changing is how these contracts can be used. The reforms target arrangements where a worker in practice works regular hours but is denied the security that pattern should bring.
What Changes Are Being Made To Zero Hour Contracts UK?
The zero hour contract reforms introduce three new rights for individuals engaged under this type of arrangement. They are:
- The right to be offered guaranteed hours reflecting the hours they have regularly worked over a reference period.
- The right to reasonable notice of their shifts and of any changes to them.
- The right to payment when a shift is cancelled, moved, or shortened at short notice.
The first of the new rights converts a settled pattern of work into a contractual entitlement to those hours. The second and third rights address the insecurity of not knowing when work will be offered and of losing expected earnings when plans change at the last minute. Similar protections will apply to agency workers, meaning that you cannot avoid the rules by engaging flexible staff through an agency.
When Will The Changes To Zero Hours Contracts Take Effect?
The changes to zero hours contracts are not yet in force. They are expected to take effect during 2027, with precise dates to be confirmed once the Government completes consultation and implements the necessary regulations.
Because the framework is set by the Employment Rights Act 2025 while the specifics come through later regulations, some detail remains subject to change. The broad shape, however, is settled enough to plan around.
How Will The Reference Period Work In Practice?
The guaranteed hours right depends on measuring what a worker regularly works over a defined reference period, which the Government has indicated is likely to be around 12 weeks. At the end of a qualifying period, an employer will generally be expected to offer a contract reflecting those hours, rather than waiting for the worker to ask.
For employers, this makes keeping accurate records of hours worked essential. If you cannot show clearly what someone has worked over successive 12-week blocks, you will not be able to judge what needs to be offered, and you may struggle to defend your position if it is subjected to scrutiny.
What Will The Changes Cost Employers?
The costs brought about by the new rules are partly administrative and partly financial. On the administrative side, businesses will need dependable systems for issuing shift notices, recording changes, and tracking hours across reference periods. On the financial side, payment for short-notice cancellations introduces a cost that did not previously exist, and converting regular hours into guaranteed contracts reduces the flexibility that made the arrangements attractive in the first place.
How Can GAP HR Help You Manage The Changes To Zero Hour Contracts UK?
We can help you with any issue arising from zero hour contracts. Including auditing your zero hours arrangements, identifying where guaranteed hours obligations will arise, helping you put compliant scheduling and record-keeping in place, and reviewing the contracts you use so that they suit your business and comply with the incoming law. When the regulations are confirmed, we will tell you what they mean for you in particular.
Call us now on 01491 598 600 or Click Here to Make An Enquiry and we will be delighted to help you.
