Zero hours contracts and shift patterns – what you need to know so far

The changes to zero hours contracts and shifts are among the most significant operational changes facing hospitality businesses.

We’re consulting extensively with members to develop our position in response to the consultation.

While our response continues to be finalised, we will be making clear that:

• The proposals as they stand will act as a barrier to the number of jobs and hours offered by hospitality businesses. This risks increasing job instability, as opposed to the Government’s stated aims of providing more certainty for employees.
• Given the extreme financial pressure facing hospitality businesses and the increased and costly administrative burden from the proposed changes, implementation should not commence before October 2028.
• The threshold at which a worker is eligible for guaranteed hours contracts should be set at eight hours per week or fewer, to genuinely reflect low hours.
• To be eligible, workers must work regularly – at least 10 out of every 12 weeks and at least 20% more than their contracted hours.
• The reference period for guaranteed hours should be sufficiently long enough to account for seasonal training, set at either at 26 or 52 weeks.

We recently hosted a webinar which set out our latest position and provided information on how businesses can make their own responses.