Member Article

Zero hour contract workers earn £300 a week less than other employees

Zero-hour contract workers earn nearly £300 a week less, on average, than permanent employees, according to a new report published by the TUC.

The Decent Jobs Deficit: The Human Cost of Zero-Hours Working and Casual Labour shows that average weekly earnings for zero-hours workers are just £188, compared to £479 for permanent workers.

The research also reveals that zero-hours workers are five times more likely not to qualify for statutory sick pay than permanent workers as a result of their lower level of take home pay.

Two-fifths (39%) of zero-hours workers earn less than £111 a week – the qualifying threshold for statutory sick pay – compared to one in twelve (8%) permanent employees.

More than 1.4 million zero-hours contracts are reportedly in use, as well as agency and other casual workers who – due to the temporary nature of their employment – often lose out on basic rights at work.

TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said: “The growth of zero-hours contracts, along with other forms of precarious employment, is one of the main reasons why working people have seen their living standards worsen significantly in recent years.

“It is shocking that so many workers employed on these kind of contracts are on poverty pay and miss out on things that most of us take for granted like sick pay.

“While it is good to see employment is rising, if the UK doesn’t create more well-paid jobs with regular hours we will continue to have a two-tier workforce where many people are stuck in working poverty.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Clare Burnett .