Zero-Hours Contract
A contract under which the employer is not obliged to provide any minimum working hours and the worker is not obliged to accept any work offered. Workers on zero-hours contracts have employment rights including NMW, holiday pay, and protection from discrimination.
Independent editorial summary — not the official statute text. Read the official version on legislation.gov.uk.
A zero-hours contract, also known as a casual contract, does not guarantee the worker any minimum number of hours. The worker is on call to work when the employer needs them, the employer does not have to give them work, and the worker does not have to do work when asked. Zero-hours contracts are usually used for 'piece work' or 'on call' work, for example for interpreters.
Zero-hours workers are entitled to statutory annual leave and the National Minimum Wage in the same way as regular workers, and the employer remains responsible for their health and safety. An employer cannot do anything to stop a zero-hours worker from getting work elsewhere, and the law allows the worker to ignore any clause in their contract that tries to ban them from looking for work or accepting work from another employer.
Related terms
Official sources
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