preview

lit review zero hour contracts

Good Essays
Open Document
Student 12199710 University of South Wales Abstract This paper focuses on the effect that temporary employment such as zero hour contracts have on the wellbeing of employees, it gives a brief definition of what a zero hour contract is, and how they have changed throughout the years eg how they were used in previous years before being called zero hour contracts, why the use of zero hour contracts is on the rise in the UK business market, and investigates the benefits and detriments of these contracts in regards to employees, it will also look at the financial benefits to the employers who use these contracts, and the type of culture that surrounds the employees who are employed on these contracts, It will also investigate what the…show more content…
The diagram below shows the percent of people in employment on a zero hour contract. Level and rate of people on zero-hours contracts1,2 October to December, each year UK, not seasonally adjusted In employment on a zero hour contract (thousands) Percent of people in employment on a zero hour contract 2000 225 0.81 2001 176 0.63 2002 156 0.55 2003 124 0.44 2004 108 0.38 2005 119 0.41 2006 147 0.50 2007 165 0.56 2008 143 0.49 2009 190 0.65 2010 168 0.57 2011 189 0.65 2012 250 0.84 2013 583 1.93 ** Source: ONS Labour Force Survey 1 Zero-hours contract - is where a person is not contracted to work a set number of hours, and is only paid for the number of hours that they actually work. 2 Series adjusted for pre-2006 change from seasonal to calendar quarters and for missing cases that cannot be brought forward Zero hour contracts on the rise could be attributed to the economic downturn in recent years, as employers struggle to find ways to reduce the costs of their businesses to be able to keep them viable “greater labour market flexibility helps the economy to respond to changes in demand and output, which in turn enables wages and employment to adjust easier”, according to Jowett et al (2014) Businesses use these contracts which allow employers to maximise the flexibility of their workforce to meet demand. Pennycook et al (2013) These types of contracts allow employers
Get Access
Related
Get Access