According to statistics from the ONS (Office for National Statistics) August 2014 saw firms reaching yet another record high in zero-hours contracts – they do not guarantee a minimum number of hours of employment nor salary. This is a 28% increase over figures for January 2014 (1.4 million, c.f. article No. 8361). In the run up to the May general election there can be no doubt that these figures will relaunch the debate over excessive use of this ultra flexible type of employment that is becoming commonplace in the hospitality sector (where 50% of employees are on this type of contract). The ONS nevertheless calls for care when analyzing the data due to seasonality factors on the one hand and increasing employee awareness on the other. It would appear that previously, British employees were not as aware as they are now that they were actually working on zero-hours contracts.
An inexorable rise notwithstanding the controversial estimates. Another ONS study confirms that recourse to zero-hours contracts has become commonplace. The statistics office indicated that some people cumulate these types of contracts and that in Q4 2014 this type of contract was the primary source of employment for at least 697,000 employees (2.3% of the UK workforce) compared with 586,000 (1.9%) the year before.
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