A new package of employment reforms is reshaping the legal rights of zero-hours and low-hours workers in the UK. Central to this shift is the Employment Rights Bill – the roadmap to the Government’s Plan to Make Work Pay, which aims to improve job security, boost wages, and reduce reliance on precarious work.
While zero-hours contracts are not being abolished, the legal landscape around them is changing. The new framework introduces enforceable rights around shift notice, compensation, and predictable hours – placing fresh obligations on employers and agencies alike. For businesses that rely on flexible staffing, this represents more than a policy tweak. It is a structural change in how casual working relationships are regulated, and one that demands careful review of contracts, systems, and staffing strategy.
Reframing flexibility
The use of zero-hours contracts has long divided opinion. For some employers, they offer a pragmatic way to meet fluctuating demand. For some workers, they provide welcome flexibility. But concerns have grown, not just about the insecurity such arrangements can create, but about the way they are used to avoid obligations that would exist under more traditional models of employment.
The new legal framework does not prohibit zero-hours contracts outright. Instead, it targets their misuse by focusing on regularity. If a worker is engaged on a zero-hours or low-hours basis but works consistent hours over time, employers will be required to offer a new contract that reflects those actual working patterns. The reference period (expected to be twelve weeks) will trigger this obligation, and the duty will arise at the end of each such period unless the worker no longer qualifies.
This is not a ‘one and done’ obligation. It is an ongoing requirement that may recur throughout a working relationship, creating a need for employers to monitor working patterns more closely and ensure that qualifying workers are offered stable contracts in a timely way.
New rights for workers
Alongside the duty to offer guaranteed hours where regular patterns emerge, the legislation introduces new rights designed to address the unpredictability that has often characterised zero-hours arrangements. Workers will now be entitled to reasonable notice of shifts and shift changes. If shifts are cancelled, shortened or moved at short notice, the worker may be entitled to compensation.
These changes are aimed at reducing the financial and emotional stress caused by last-minute alterations – a common issue, particularly in hospitality, care and other high-churn sectors. While the precise definitions of “reasonable notice” and “short notice” are still to be clarified through secondary legislation, employers should prepare for an expectation of much earlier and more structured rota planning than may currently be the norm.
This is likely to create cultural as well as administrative change. Line managers, rota teams and HR professionals will need to align on how shift scheduling is handled, communicated and recorded — and ensure that cancellations and changes are treated with the care of a contractual matter, rather than an operational afterthought.
Agency workers
The reforms also extend protections to one of the most vulnerable corners of the workforce: agency staff. Many agency workers are engaged under zero-hours arrangements, and historically, the division of responsibility between the agency and the end hirer has created gaps in protection.
Under the new framework, where an agency worker meets the criteria for a guaranteed hours offer, the obligation to make that offer rests not with the agency, but with the end hirer. In addition, both the agency and the hirer will share liability for meeting the new requirements around shift notice and compensation.
This may come as a surprise to employers who have traditionally viewed agency labour as “off balance sheet” from an employment law perspective. Going forward, those who rely heavily on agency staff will need to scrutinise the length, consistency and management of such placements, and may need to budget for additional direct employment costs, or restructure how flexible resource is procured.
Anti-avoidance measures and tribunal risk
To prevent employers from sidestepping these obligations, the Bill includes robust anti-avoidance measures. Employers who deliberately manipulate working hours to avoid triggering a guaranteed hours offer, or who fail to track hours or notify workers of their rights, may be penalised. The legislation anticipates some scope for negotiated opt-outs through collective agreements, but these will be tightly regulated.
It will be automatically unfair to dismiss an employee in certain circumstances and workers will have the right not to be subjected to any detriment.
Enforcement will be multi-layered. The time limit for workers to bring a claim in the Employment Tribunal will be extended from three to six months, making it more likely that potential breaches will reach formal dispute. In addition, a new statutory body, the Fair Work Agency, will have powers to investigate and enforce compliance. This external scrutiny raises the stakes for employers who are slow to adapt.
It’s worth noting that claims in this area may not be limited to straightforward breach of contract or unpaid compensation. In some cases, an employer’s failure to offer stable hours or provide proper notice may amount to a breach of trust and confidence, opening the door to wider claims for constructive dismissal or detriment.
What should employers do now?
For employers, the immediate priority is preparation. Contracts that rely on zero- or low-hours models need to be reviewed, not only for compliance but for suitability. Employers must now consider whether the commercial benefit of flexibility outweighs the potential legal risk — particularly where casual staff are, in practice, working fixed or regular patterns.
Tracking systems must be updated so that working hours are accurately recorded and qualifying thresholds are visible. Rota management processes should be assessed against the new shift notice and cancellation rights, and training delivered to those with day-to-day responsibility for scheduling and communications.
Where agency staff are used, the terms of engagement should be revisited to account for the new obligations placed on end hirers, especially in long-term or high-volume deployments. And for those operating in unionised environments, existing collective agreements should be reviewed in light of the proposed limits on opt-outs and exemptions.
Ultimately, the success of these reforms will hinge on how seriously employers take their spirit, not just their letter. While the legislation introduces complexity, it also offers clarity: where patterns of work suggest a settled relationship, the law now expects a settled contract.
A shift in working culture
The Employment Rights Bill is more than a change in law; it is a change in how we think about flexibility, loyalty and fairness in the workplace. It accepts that not all zero-hours contracts are abusive – but insists that when flexibility becomes permanence, the law should respond with stability.
For employers who are willing to engage early, there is an opportunity here. By modernising casual arrangements, offering greater transparency, and reducing unnecessary churn, businesses can improve retention, reduce legal risk, and build stronger relationships with the workers who form the backbone of their operations.
