Zero-hours Contracts Research Articles

Workers with few hours – who secures their social rights? – The role of social dialogue and collective bargaining

This special issue looks at the contributions of social dialogue and collective bargaining to creating, maintaining or reducing the risks associated with employment contracts of few hours, such as marginal part-time work, temporary agency work and zero-hour contracts. It additionally considers changes in welfare institutions with regard to the protection of these groups of workers. In this paper, we introduce the arguments on why and how working in marginal part-time jobs involves vulnerability, and on the differential roles collective bargaining and social protection may have on these jobs, depending in particular on which status (employees, workers or self-employed) they are associated to.

Confucian values and zero-hour contracts: Sensemaking in workplace regimes at McDonald’s in China and the UK

Confucian values and zero-hour contracts: Sensemaking in workplace regimes at McDonald’s in China and the UK

Zero hours contracts and self‐reported (mental) health in the UK

AbstractThis article examines associations between precarious contract types and a range of self‐reported health measures for the UK. We focus on zero hours contracts (ZHCs), an extreme form of precarious employment that has grown rapidly in the UK over the last decade, and on mental health. We demonstrate that workers employed on ZHCs are more likely to report a long‐term health condition than workers employed on other types of contract, with the main driver being that they are almost twice as likely to report mental ill health. These associations survive conditioning on an extensive set of observable individual, job and contextual characteristics, and are robust to sensitivity analysis designed to explore the likely extent of bias due to unobserved confounders. We discuss potential explanations for these associations, from sorting of workers with poor health into ZHC employment to detrimental effects of ZHC employment on health, drawing on additional instrumental variables estimates to do so. Finally, we discuss potential policy implications.

The varying national agenda in variable hours contract regulation: Implications for the labour market regimes in the Netherlands and Finland

In the article, the regulatory trajectories of variable hours contracts (VHCs, denoting on-call contracts, and zero-hours contracts) are analysed in two countries, the Netherlands and Finland. The unity or disunity in social partners’ readiness for bringing the issue of VHCs to the agenda of collective bargaining has implications for the labour market regimes. From the institutional change perspective, the shared agenda in regulating the VHCs implies conversion of the labour market regime in the Netherlands. In Finland, layering was seen in the development of labour legislation, whereas the disregard of VHCs in collective bargaining implies drift. In Finland, the ‘legislative route’ of regulating conditions of labour may strengthen, undermining the negotiatory autonomy of social partners, earlier embedded in the structure of the Nordic labour market regime.

‘They made bets that I’d die’: Impacts of COVID-19 on Polish essential workers in the UK

ABSTRACT The Covid-19 pandemic exposed the UK’s socio-economic dependence on a chronically insecure migrant essential workforce. While risking their lives to offset the devastating effects of the pandemic, many migrant workers found themselves in precarious professional and personal circumstances (e.g. temporary zero-hours contracts, work exploitation, limited access to health and social services). This article explores the health, social, economic, and cultural impacts of the pandemic on migrant essential workers in the UK. It focuses on one of the largest non-British nationalities, the Polish community, who – while employed across a range of roles and sectors – are overrepresented in lower-paid essential jobs. The article discusses variegated and interconnected impacts of the pandemic on these workers. It illustrates how Covid-19 affects them in very uneven and sometimes contrasting ways depending on their individual positionalities. Methodologically, the article draws upon 1105 responses to an online survey, 40 interviews with Polish essential workers in the UK and 10 expert interviews with key stakeholders providing support to migrant workers in the country. It is based on the first major research project investigating lived experiences of migrant essential workers in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic funded by the UK Economic and Social Research Council.

Sum of the zero-hours game

Tina Chander explains what you need to know about zero-hours contracts

Frames of war and welfare

Frames of war and welfare

Retraction notice to "Zero Hours Contracts and Their Perceived Impact on Job Motivation of Event Catering Staff" [Event Management 24(6), 735–752, 2020

Retraction notice to "Zero Hours Contracts and Their Perceived Impact on Job Motivation of Event Catering Staff" [<i>Event Management</i> 24(6), 735–752, 2020

Economic martyrs and moralised others: The construction of social class in UK media during the ‘age of austerity’

This article describes the key findings of a study which critically analyses the construction of social class within UK media during the period 2010–2016 – part of the ‘age of austerity’. Focusing upon 240 newspaper articles covering six topics (emergency budget, welfare reform, workfare, bedroom tax, food banks and zero-hour contracts), the study provides critical insights into how class is constructed in an important context: namely that of economic downturn and rising inequality. The findings suggest that a pro-austerity discourse dominates the coverage. Here austerity is described as necessary, and the idea of ‘unavoidable scarcity’ forms the basis for a ‘moral divide’ between a vague in-group – the ‘ordinary hardworking people’, defined by their idealised struggle and selfless sense of duty – and an exploitative ‘other’. This both legitimises austerity and masks its broader impact. As the impacts become more apparent, however, challenges to the dominant narrative begin to appear. In the course of these challenges, the struggle inherent to class is placed back on the agenda, and class is increasingly constructed as an ‘anxious concept’ – a slippery slope down which one might fall.

Precarious employment and workplace health outcomes in Britain

RationaleThe world of work is changing rapidly, and precarious employment is becoming more prevalent in Britain and elsewhere, particularly since the 2008 financial crisis. This is despite the evidence linking employment precarity to adverse health outcomes, and the policy discourses advocating for high-quality jobs. ObjectiveI seek to establish empirically the extent and nature of the potential link between employment precarity and health outcomes, which is done chiefly at the workplace level. The research can be vital from the perspective of informing policy, given that the workplace represents the level where key policy levers operate. MethodsI use nationally representative data from the British Workplace Employment Relations Survey. Four workplace health outcomes (WHOs; viz., injuries, illnesses, job satisfaction, and job anxiety) have been used to examine if organizations with precarious employment arrangements are likely to experience adverse health outcomes. I use alternative econometric approaches to compare organizations that reported to have three types of precarious employment arrangements, viz., shift working, annualised hours, and zero-hours contracts (ZHCs), vis-à-vis their counterparts without such arrangements. ResultsThe results obtained reveal that workplaces with precarious employment arrangements are significantly unhealthier, and those with the most insecure form of precarious employment perform particularly worst in this respect. ConclusionsPrecarious employment may become ever more prevalent as organizations contend with economic fallouts from shocks such as Brexit or Covid-19. This may lead to sub-standard health outcomes. The positive influence of trade unions on working conditions has largely been decimated and the workforce in Britain is ageing. These combinations may pose significant challenges to public health including mental health crises. Public policy ought to help minimise adverse health outcomes linked to employment precarity.

What if the purpose of social law was to ensure that workers’ needs are met? Some lessons from the regulation of zero-hour contracts in three European countries

This article concludes the recent special issue of the ELLJ devoted to zero-hours contracts (ZHC), edited by E. Dermine and A. Mechelynck. It draws some cross-cutting conclusions based on the analysis of the four national contributions. Two major issues are examined in turn. First, the author looks back at the contrasting attitude that different national authorities have taken towards the use of ZHCs. She describes how these practices have been differently defined and legally framed and identifies the main debated issues. After acknowledging that no legal system has completely banned ZHCs, the article asks whether specific mechanisms adopted to mitigate the negative consequences of ZHCs are effective. This second inquiry is framed within a normative framework inspired by the work of Maslow. It invites us to refocus the legal debate on the fundamental objective of meeting the most basic needs of ZHC workers.

The shaping of the neoliberal worker: Socialisation of young adults through flexible hospitality work

Neoliberal reforms have led to a profound transformation of the UK labour market and the higher education sector, resulting in precarisation of work, youth underemployment and employability-focused universities. Relying on a flexible young workforce, tourism and hospitality workplaces have been at the forefront of these changes. This article examines implications of these macro-level transformations for young workers and the role of hospitality workplaces in shaping understandings of work. Drawing on 44 interviews with university students on zero-hour contracts in UK hospitality, the article theorises student-workers' socialisation to work. It shows how, as anticipatory work socialisation spaces, hospitality workplaces contribute to the shaping of neoliberal subjectivities through normalisation of certain, sometimes troubling, working practices.

The right of a platform worker to decide whether and when to work: An obstacle to their employee status?

The employment status of platform workers has been vividly discussed in recent years. Digital platforms often argue that the workers’ freedom to decide whether and when to work speaks to their self-employment. The scarce case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) as well as the new proposal for a Directive on platform work appears to indicate that opinion is shared. However, the Member States can guarantee better protection to platform workers. The working arrangements of platform workers are similar to zero-hours work in which the worker also has the right to refuse offered tasks. In some countries, such as Finland, zero-hours workers are explicitly considered as employees. Nevertheless, the general definition of the employment contract requires the commitment on behalf of the employee to perform work. This contradiction makes the employment status of zero-hours workers as well as platform workers unclear. In this article I analyse whether and how the right to decide whether and when to work affects the employment status of food delivery couriers working through digital platforms. I use Wolt and Foodora as examples. The issue is analysed in the light of Finnish regulation and European Union law. I argue that even though the case law of the CJEU and the proposal for a Directive on platform work regard the right of a food delivery courier to decide whether and when to work as evidence against their employee status, the couriers can obtain this status through the regulation of zero-hours contracts. Regardless of the fact that generally the conclusion of an employment contract requires the commitment on behalf of the worker to perform work, zero-hours workers are explicitly and exceptionally exempted from this requirement. As the couriers can be classified as zero-hours workers, their freedom to choose whether and when to work does not preclude their classification as employees.

Burnout and counterproductive workplace behaviours among frontline hospitality employees: the effect of perceived contract precarity

PurposeThis study aims to investigate affective commitment (ACS) and leader–member exchange (LMX) as resources mitigating against burnout and counterproductive work behaviours (CWBs) in the hospitality sector, and examines the effect of zero-hour contracts on these relationships.Design/methodology/approachThrough conservation of resources theory, this study tests a framework exploring ACS and LMX as resources against burnout and CWBs, using a data set of 260 frontline hospitality employees working in Ireland, considering zero-hour contracts as a moderator.FindingsFindings indicate that burnout is associated with CWB, and ACS and LMX are resources against burnout and CWB. Furthermore, zero-hour contract perceptions moderate the resource effect of ACS and LMX. Yet, zero-hour contract perceptions do not moderate the relationship between burnout and CWB, indicating these employees may be caught in a resource-loss spiral.Practical implicationsThis study proposes mechanisms to enhance resources against burnout, with specific strategies to support young employees who are more likely to experience burnout. As findings suggest unique negative impacts of burnout for employees on zero-hour contracts, this paper also provides guidance to support these vulnerable employees.Originality/valueThis study provides unique insights into hospitality employees’ ability to harness resources against burnout and CWB consequences of burnout. The results indicate that perceived precarity does not moderate these relationships, suggesting that burnout affects this cohort differently.

Bernard Shaw as Political Writer

Bernard Shaw as Political Writer

Racism, zero-hours contracts and complicity in higher education

ABSTRACT The use of zero-hours contracts (ZHCs) has been associated with the transfer of risk away from corporate employers and towards individual employees. In universities increasing numbers of teaching staff are employed on such contracts. Academics from Black and minority ethnic backgrounds (BME) are disproportionately more likely to be employed on ZHCs. This article draws on the accounts of 21 BME academics to explore their personal experiences of ZHCs. The research identified a broad range of inequalities fostered by a lack of collegiality on the part of permanently contracted colleagues that materialized at the local, departmental level. Using the concepts of ‘risk’, ’risk culture’ and ‘White habitus’, this article explores the extent to which race and racism are a feature of collective departmental strategies to manage risk.

Zero-hour contracts and labour law: An antithetical association?

As an introduction to the special issue, this article provides a common definition of the phenomenon studied, i.e. zero-hour contracts, and sets out the research goals pursued through the successive contributions that compose it. Zero-hour contracts are long-term relationships where the employer does not commit to providing a minimum number of working hours to the worker. Legal scholars often state that zero-hour contracts are antithetical to the decommodification of work pursued by labour law. The special issue intends to explore this hypothesis through a legal doctrinal approach to European, international, and national labour law. First, it seeks to refine this hypothesis by examining, through three national case-studies, if (and how) national labour laws were designed to prevent zero-hour contracts and similar on-demand work arrangements. Second, taking the hypothesis seriously, it investigates whether there might be legal arguments in national labour laws and in European and international social law to oppose or to better protect zero-hour workers.

Welfare-to-work, zero-hours contracts and human rights

Welfare-to-work, zero-hours contracts and human rights

Regulating zero-hour contracts in Belgium: From a defensive to a (too?) supportive approach

Regulating zero-hour contracts in Belgium: From a defensive to a (too?) supportive approach

Zero-hours contracts and english employment law: Developments and possibilities

The UK has seen a dramatic growth in precarious work over recent decades, including the amorphous category of ‘zero-hours contracts’ which are often regarded as a paradigm example of an exploitative and insecure form of work. Although somewhat overshadowed by litigation and debates surrounding the gig-economy, the regulation of zero hours work continues to be a pressing issue in the UK, and important questions as to the rights that are, and should be, available to individuals with these contracts remain unanswered. This article sets out the detrimental effects that zero hours working arrangements have in the absence of adequate regulatory safeguards and argues that the orthodox treatment of zero hours contracts under English law, and the standard tools of employment law, fail to protect against these economic and social harms. The article then assesses the extent to which recent legislative and common law developments improve the position of zero hours workers, and whether existing legislation might be creatively applied to better protect these individuals. While current statutory frameworks, including reforms and legislation aimed at regulating atypical work, fall short of adequately protecting zero hours workers, the ‘purposive approach’ to employment status developed by the Supreme Court in Uber makes it considerably easier for zero hours contracts to be brought within the protective scope of employment law. It is argued that under this approach many individuals with supposedly ‘zero hours’ working arrangements should in fact now be regarded as employees with overarching contracts of employment. Despite the significance of this, however, it is ultimately concluded that further statutory intervention is necessary to effectively regulate zero hours work in the UK.