📋 Toolbox Talk · Employment Rights

Zero Hours Contracts:
Know Your Rights

A plain-English guide for workers and managers — what the law says, what's changing under ERA 2025, and what to do if things go wrong.

📅 Last reviewed: August 2026 📚 GOV.UK · ACAS · ERA 2025 🇬🇧 England, Wales & Scotland ukworkrights.co.uk

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The basics

What is a zero hours contract?

Your employer has no obligation to offer any minimum hours
You are not obliged to accept hours — but in practice, refusing is rarely realistic
Common in hospitality, retail, social care, healthcare and education
Around 1.1 million workers in the UK are currently on zero hours contracts
The label on your contract is not the final word — courts look at the reality of the working relationship
You still have real, enforceable legal rights — the name refers to your employer's obligation, not your entitlements

⚖ The key point

Even on a zero hours contract, the law gives you rights to holiday pay, minimum wage, sick pay and more.

⚠ Watch out

If you work regular hours over time, you may actually be an employee — even if your contract says otherwise.

Legal status

Worker or employee — why it matters

👷 Worker rights (most zero hours)

National Minimum / Living Wage
Paid holiday — 5.6 weeks/year
Rest breaks
Statutory Sick Pay
Protection from unlawful pay deductions
Whistleblowing protection

✅ Employees get all of the above plus

Unfair dismissal protection (after 2 years' service; 6 months where employment ends on or after 1 January 2027)
Redundancy pay
Maternity / paternity leave and pay
Statutory notice period

💡 Not sure of your status?

Regular hours + employer's equipment + integrated into the team = you may be an employee regardless of what the contract says.

By the numbers

Zero hours contracts in the UK

1.1m

Workers currently on zero hours contracts (ONS)

30%

Would prefer more guaranteed hours (CIPD)

£12.71

National Living Wage per hour — April 2026 (age 21+)

5.6wks

Paid holiday every year — no exceptions

£123.25

Statutory Sick Pay per week — from day one (April 2026)

2 yrs

Back-pay you can claim for unlawful holiday pay deductions

Your entitlement

Holiday pay — what you're owed

You are entitled to 5.6 weeks of paid annual leave per year — same as any other worker
From April 2024 employers can use rolled-up holiday pay — 12.07% added to every payslip, clearly labelled
If paid when you take leave: calculated as your average earnings over the last 52 weeks worked (zero-pay weeks excluded)
Must include regular overtime and commission — not just basic hourly rate
Underpayment can be claimed back up to 2 years

⚠ Employer mistakes that are unlawful

Claiming you have no holiday entitlement
Hiding rolled-up pay inside your hourly rate
Calculating holiday on basic pay only
Discouraging you from taking leave

Pay rights

Minimum wage — every hour counts

Age	Rate from April 2026
Age 21+	£12.71 / hour
Age 18–20	£10.85 / hour
Age 16–17	£8.00 / hour
Apprentices	£8.00 / hour

✅ What counts as working time

Time on-site and available, even if not actively working
Travel between assignments (in some cases)
Mandatory training

💡 Report underpayment confidentially

HMRC at gov.uk/pay-and-work-rights — they investigate independently. Your employer is not notified that you reported.

Your freedom

Exclusivity clauses — already illegal

Since 26 May 2015, clauses preventing you from working for other employers are unenforceable by law
Since 6 April 2016, it is unlawful to dismiss you or treat you worse for working elsewhere
If your contract still contains such a clause — it is void. You do not need to comply
Your employer cannot monitor, restrict or penalise you for having a second job
Retaliation — reduced hours, threats, dismissal — is unlawful detriment

✅ In plain English

You are free to work multiple zero hours jobs at the same time. If your employer punishes you for it — contact ACAS immediately. That's a legal claim.

What's changing

The Employment Rights
Act 2025

The biggest overhaul of zero hours contract law in a decade. Here's what it means for you.

Employment Rights Act 2025

What's changing for zero hours workers

1

Right to be offered guaranteed hours

In the Act, but not in force yet (expected 2027). Employers will have to offer guaranteed hours, rather than workers having to ask. Until it starts, the current rules apply.

2

Reasonable notice of shifts

In the Act, but not in force yet (expected 2027). It is not law until it starts.

3

Pay for cancelled shifts

In the Act, but not in force yet (expected 2027). It is not law until it starts.

4

Unfair dismissal: 6 months from January 2027

Day-one protection was dropped. Employees need 2 years' service to claim ordinary unfair dismissal, or 6 months where the employment ends on or after 1 January 2027. A zero hours worker can only claim unfair dismissal if they are an employee.

5

Protection from detriment

Once these rights start, you will be protected from being punished — reduced hours, dismissed or treated worse — for using them.

ERA 2025 — implementation timeline

Key dates to know

6 April 2026

SSP from day one — waiting days and the minimum earnings limit removed. £123.25 a week, or 80% of average weekly earnings if lower

1 October 2026

Employment Tribunal time limits 6 months less 1 day for acts on or after this date (England, Wales and Scotland)

1 January 2027

Unfair dismissal qualifying period cut from 2 years to 6 months, where employment ends on or after this date (day-one protection was dropped)

2027 (expected)

Right to be offered guaranteed hours — in the Act, not in force yet

2027 (expected)

Reasonable notice of shifts & pay for cancelled shifts — in the Act, not in force yet

💡 Always verify at legislation.gov.uk

ERA 2025 provisions are brought into force by separate commencement orders. Check current dates before relying on a right.

Sick pay & pensions

SSP and auto-enrolment

🤒 Statutory Sick Pay

Payable if you earn at least £125/week in the relevant pay period
£123.25/week for up to 28 weeks
From 6 April 2026 — paid from day one (no waiting days)
Variable earners: assessed on earnings in the 8 weeks before sickness
Dismissal for sickness may be unfair, and dismissing someone because of a disability can be discrimination from day one

🏦 Workplace Pension

Auto-enrolled if aged 22+, earning £10,000+/year
Earn £6,240–£10,000? You can opt in — employer must still contribute
Zero hours workers often fall below threshold but still have the right to opt in
Not been enrolled when you should have? Contact The Pensions Regulator

If things go wrong

What to do if your rights are being breached

1

Gather your evidence

Payslips, contract, shift schedules, written messages. Calculate what you were owed versus what you received.

2

Raise it with your employer in writing

Email is fine. State the right being breached and what you want. Keep a copy. This creates a paper trail before any formal step.

3

Contact ACAS — 0300 123 1100

Free, impartial advice. ACAS early conciliation is required before any Tribunal claim and is completely free.

4

Report minimum wage underpayment to HMRC

Confidential: gov.uk/pay-and-work-rights — they investigate independently.

5

Employment Tribunal — don't miss the deadline

6 months less one day for a breach on or after 1 October 2026 (3 months less one day for earlier breaches). The clock starts from the date of the breach.

Common questions

Frequently asked questions

Can my employer cancel my shift with no pay?

Currently yes, though ERA 2025 will introduce cancellation compensation (expected late 2026). Check your contract — some include terms that may entitle you to payment now.

Can I work for other employers on a zero hours contract?

Yes. Exclusivity clauses have been unenforceable since 2015. Your employer cannot stop you taking other work or punish you for doing so.

What if my hours are reduced after I raise a complaint?

Reducing hours as retaliation for asserting legal rights is unlawful detriment. Document everything and contact ACAS immediately.

Does my employer have to give me a written contract?

Yes — from day one. No written statement is itself a breach. It cannot be brought on its own — but if you win another tribunal claim, the tribunal can add 2 weeks' pay, or 4 weeks' if it considers that just and equitable (each week capped at the statutory limit).

Free rights guidance

Zero hours contracts
free guidance

Get plain-English guidance on your rights and your employer's legal duties.

ACAS — Free employment advice

0300 123 1100

acas.org.uk

Citizens Advice

0800 144 8848

citizensadvice.org.uk

HMRC — Minimum wage

Confidential online

gov.uk/pay-and-work-rights

UK Work Rights — Free guide

Zero Hours Contracts in England, Wales and Scotland 2026

ukworkrights.co.uk/guide-zero-hours-gb.html

General rights guidance only — not legal advice · © UK Work Rights Ltd · Company No. 17228507 · ICO Registration No. ZC239465 · Registered office: 71–75 Shelton Street, Covent Garden, London, WC2H 9JQ · hello@ukworkrights.co.uk
Published by UK Work Rights Ltd
Drafted with AI assistance, using official sources.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

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