Oxfordshire business expert warns against banning zero-hour contracts
The Employment Rights Bill is set to be scrutinised by the House of Lords next week
An Oxfordshire business expert is warning the government against abolishing zero-hour contacts in the Employment Rights Bill.
The proposed law is set to be scrutinised by the House of Lords next week, with one of its aims being to clamp down on zero-hour contacts without the offer of work.
James Anderson is spokesperson for the Thames Valley Region at the Federation of Small Businesses and says, “in its current format, it’s going to be detrimental to small businesses and to society.”
He said: “When we hear zero-hour contracts, we all think of sweatshops and big companies exploiting people.
“Whereas in reality, so many small businesses employ people on zero-hour contracts because it works for the individual who is being employed.”
He added: “If you've got caring responsibilities or for whatever reason, your life circumstances don't guarantee you being able to work 40 hours a week, then zero our contracts work perfectly for you.
“Look at the hospitality sector, they can employ students on zero-hour contracts because it’s a better way of doing it rather than having to rehire people every holiday when they return back from college or university.”
The Employment Rights Bill will look to introduce a number of measures to protect workers from their very first day in employment.
Mr Anderson believes that this will halt growth and “it's just going to stop people from employing people”.
He said: “Employers will just not employ. They'll say it's not worth the risk.
“You can interview somebody as many times as you like, but until they're doing the job, it's only then that you see that they are going to work out or not.”
A government spokesperson says the proposed law will bring "the biggest upgrade to workers' rights in a generation, and our measures already have strong support amongst business and the public".
They added: “We will engage on the implementation of legislation to ensure it works for employers and workers alike."