The government has launched its long awaited consultation document on the regulation of zero hours contracts. The Department of Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS), led by the Business Secretary Vince Cable, was compelled to announce that the use of the contracts would be investigated and appropriate action taken to regulate them after it emerged that their use was much greater than the Office of National Statistics estimated and that many workers on the contracts were being discriminated against. The consultation will last 12 weeks. (Ref. 130815)
The consultation document rules out a complete ban on zero-hours contracts, saying they offered employers ‘welcome flexibility’ despite use evidence of abuse of workers’ rights. To deal with this abuse, employers could be barred from using ‘exclusivity clauses’ within zero hour contracts that prevent people working for another employer.
Vince Cable argued that ‘A growing number of employers and individuals today are using zero-hour contracts. Employers need flexible workforces and people should
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