Under a zero hours contract, the employer does not guarantee to provide a minimum number of hours’ work.
Previously, it had been found that some employers sought to prohibit those engaged under zero hours contracts from working for other organisations or doing so without their consent. This was done via “exclusivity clauses”.
Such clauses have been prohibited since May 2015 but until today, there was no way of enforcing this ban.
After much publicity around protection of zero contract workers, the Exclusivity Terms in Zero Hour Contracts (Redress) Regulations 2015 have been introduced.
The Regulations provide that:
– Any dismissal of a zero hour contract employee will be automatically unfair, if the principal reason for dismissal is that the employee is prohibited from working for another employer.
– It is unlawful to submit a zero hour worker to detriment if they work for another employer even when there is a clause prohibiting them from carrying out such additional work.
If you need assistance with zero hour contracts, please do not hesitate to contact our specialist employment team.
Written by
Rachael Jessop
11th January 2016.