Zero hour contracts. The next legislative step

A part of the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act banned the use of exclusivity clauses in zero hour contracts on 26 May 2015.

Following on from this, the Exclusivity Terms in Zero Hours Contracts (Redress) Regulations 2015 have come into force to introduce some real protection for zero hour contract workers.

Now, any dismissal of a zero hour contract employee will be automatically unfair, if the principal reason is that they breached a contractual clause prohibiting them from working for another employer.

In addition, there is no qualifying period required to bring such an unfair dismissal claim.

Finally, it is now also unlawful to submit a zero hour worker to detriments if they work for another employer in breach of a clause prohibiting them from doing so.

For any further information on this or any other Employment matter, please contact Keith Land on 0191 226 4892 or keith.land@sintons.co.uk