Zero-hours contracts offer no guaranteed hours, and they are woven through hospitality, from banqueting teams to seasonal bars. Exclusivity clauses that try to stop zero-hours workers taking work elsewhere are unenforceable, so nobody can be tied to one venue without being offered hours. The Employment Rights Act 2025 provides for new rights, most not yet in force as of autumn 2026, around offering guaranteed hours that reflect what someone regularly works, giving reasonable notice of shifts and paying for shifts cancelled or cut at short notice, with the detail being phased in through regulations, so always check what is currently in force.
For students, parents and people with second jobs, genuine flexibility can be a real benefit. The problem is one-sided flexibility, where the business gets to cancel at an hour's notice but the worker cannot plan rent, childcare or a life. Zero-hours workers still have rights to the minimum wage, holiday pay, rest breaks and protection from discrimination, whatever their contract says.
What we ask on the show
- When does a zero-hours contract genuinely suit the worker?
- How will guaranteed-hours rights change the way you staff a venue?
- Have you ever had a shift cancelled at the last minute, and what did it cost you?
- Can a venue be both flexible and fair?