Today, it has been announced that Vince Cable, Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, will be introducing legislation to prevent employers stopping employees on zero-hour contracts from seeking work elsewhere. Cable described the businesses that force employees to sign ‘exclusivity clauses’ as “unscrupulous”.
This is a positive move to control employers who exploit zero hour contracts. Some have called for zero hours contracts to be banned completely. Working on zero hour contracts employees can face uncertainty over working hours and they can enable businesses to exploit their human capital. However, zero hours contracts are important to allow casual workers to make occasional earnings – such as retirees, students and 2nd jobbers.
Allowing people to seek alternative employment whilst on a zero hour contract will allow them greater security, flexibility and control of their earnings. Whilst this is a great ‘first step’ and we await Cable’s next move.
Read more:
Blog post from Samantha Gee: A role for HR in managing zero hours contracts
