Zero hours = zero rights?
One of my friends got a new job the other day.
She’s been unemployed since being made redundant last summer and jumped at the chance to do some casual work that used her admin skills.
As you’d expect, I had my HR hat on, asking about her contract, sick pay and holiday and all that jazz.
Her response?
“Oh no, I don’t get any of that stuff because I’m a zero hours worker”.
I pointed out that however wonderful her new employer was, they were also operating illegally and not paying her what she was owed.
I offered to read the contract to check what else they had got wrong.
The employer had correctly worded the contact to make it a “zero hours” one: they did not have to offer work and the worker did not have to accept it.