Are zero hour contracts legal?

Short answer to this question is yes. Zero hour contracts or casual contracts are legal contracts, however as an employer you should bear in mind that although these contracts mean that you do not have to offer regular hours to your employee they are still a legal agreement and you do have responsibilities, for example

• Zero hour workers are still entitled to statutory annual leave
• Zero hour workers are still entitled to the National Minimum Wage
• You are still responsible for the Health and Safety
• You cannot prevent them from looking for work elsewhere

There is a difference between zero hour workers and freelance self employed workers and you should consult a HR professional to ensure that you are contracting your team properly.

Filled Under: Contracts Posted on: 2nd November 2020

When should I employ my freelancers?

Many businesses use freelancers, especially when they need specific skills temporarily or perhaps if the business’ needs fluctuate. The important thing to remember about freelancers is that whether they work for you or are self employed it mostly comes down to what other work they have. If you are the only person or business they provide their freelance services to, then you should be employing them. In order to be self employed they MUST have income from more than one source.

Filled Under: Contracts Posted on: 2nd November 2020

Do I have to agree to change employee’s working hours?

All employees have a legal right to ask for a change to their working hours providing they have worked for the company for 26 weeks or more. Each employee may only make 1 application per annum.

When a request is received you should hold a meeting with your employee to discuss the request. Your employee can bring a colleague or trade union representative with them to this meeting.

You do not HAVE TO agree to change an employees working hours, but you are obliged to give the matter serious consideration and if you deny the right to give a clear explanation of why you have not agreed. You also need to make a decision within 3 months of the request being submitted.

The following are valid reasons for denying a request to change working hours:

• Additional financial cost to the business
• A negative effect on the businesses ability to serve its customers
• An inability to rearrange work with other employees
• Not being able to recruit other staff
• A negative effect on quality of work or performance
• Non-availability of work during periods employee wishes to work
• Organisational restructuring

You should also be aware that not granting the change could result in the loss of the employee

Filled Under: Contracts Posted on: 5th May 2020