Zero-hours contracts: ministers’ detailed plans for UK ban criticised by firms and unions

Ministers are facing criticism from unions and employers after laying out details of plans for a guaranteed regular working week as part of a ban on zero-hours contracts . Under rules poised to come into force next year, employers will have to offer staff, including agency workers, a contract that guarantees a minimum number of hours each week based on their regular working hours. In a consultation on how to implement the zero-hours ban, launched on Tuesday, the government said its preference was that workers would be guaranteed between eight and 20 hours a week. Businesses should determine a worker’s regular hours over a 12-week reference period under the government’s preferred option. It will be possible for workers to choose to be a zero-hours contract but they will be eligible for compensation if their shifts are changed at short notice. More than 1 million people in the UK are working on a zero-hours contract basis – where a worker is not guaranteed a minimum number of working hours – in areas ranging from working in pubs and restaurants to warehouses and hospitals. The changes are part of Labour’s Employment Rights Act, which came into law late last year. The package of workers rights faced significant opposition from the Conservatives and business groups. Peter Kyle, the business secretary, said: “It’s not right that people can work regular hours but still have no certainty about their pay from week to week. …