Can I Hire Someone on a Zero-Hours Contract?
From 2027, new rules impact zero-hour contracts, meaning you need to assess hours worked and potentially offer regular employment. Understanding what is likely to close and where your time is best spent is vital.
Yes, you can hire someone on a zero-hours contract in the UK. These contracts offer flexibility, but from 2027, employers must assess hours worked over a 12-week period and offer regular hours if applicable. Ensure compliance with employment law to avoid unfair treatment.
- Zero-hour contracts allow flexibility without guaranteeing work.
- Employers must ensure fair treatment of zero-hours workers.
- From 2027, assess hours worked over a 12-week period and offer regular hours if applicable.
Let’s look at a small bakery, ‘The Daily Loaf’, using a zero-hours contract for a part-time baker, Sarah.
- Initial Contract: The Daily Loaf hires Sarah on a zero-hours contract, offering shifts as needed.
- 12-Week Monitoring Period: Over the first 12 weeks (Jan-March), Sarah works the following hours:
* January: 10 hours
* February: 18 hours
* March: 22 hours
- Total Hours: Total hours worked over the 12 weeks: 10 + 18 + 22 = 50 hours.
- Average Hours: Average hours worked per week: 50 / 12 = 4.17 hours.
- Regularity Assessment: The Daily Loaf assesses this. 4.17 hours per week is a consistent, though part-time, pattern.
- Offer of Contract: Because of the regular pattern, The Daily Loaf is legally obliged to offer Sarah a contract for at least 4.17 hours per week. They offer her a contract for 8 hours per week, to provide more stability and reflect her average hours.
- Sarah’s Choice: Sarah can accept or decline the contract. If she declines, the zero-hours arrangement continues, but the bakery must reassess regularly.
Zero-Hours Contract Assessment Calculator
Zero-Hours Contract Assessment Calculator
| Stage | Value | Formula |
|---|---|---|
| Total Hours Worked Over 12 Weeks | 50 | Hours Worked in January + Hours Worked in February (10 + 18) |
| Total Hours Worked Over 12 Weeks | 50 | Total Hours Worked Over 12 Weeks + Hours Worked in March (50 + 22) |
| Average Hours Worked Per Week | 0 | Total Hours Worked Over 12 Weeks ÷ 12 (50 ÷ 0) = 0 |
What are the key benefits and risks of using zero-hours contracts in the UK?
Zero-hours contracts offer UK businesses significant flexibility in managing their workforce. They allow employers to adjust staffing levels quickly to meet fluctuating demand without the obligation of guaranteed hours. This is particularly useful in sectors with seasonal peaks or unpredictable workloads, like hospitality or retail. However, this flexibility comes with risks. The main concern is the potential for unfair treatment of workers. Workers on zero-hours contracts often lack job security and may struggle to secure sufficient income. Employers must comply with employment law and ensure these workers aren’t disadvantaged compared to other employees.
Legal risks include claims of unfair dismissal or discrimination if the contract isn’t managed correctly. Businesses need to be transparent about the nature of the contract and ensure they’re not using it to avoid employment rights. While offering flexibility, it's crucial to balance that with fair working conditions and legal compliance.
How do recent legislative changes affect hiring under zero-hours contracts?
The Employment Rights Act 2025 is bringing significant changes to the use of zero-hours contracts in the UK. These changes are designed to protect workers and ensure they are not unfairly treated. The legislation aims to address the issue of ‘one-sided flexibility’ where employers benefit from the flexibility of zero-hours contracts without providing workers with adequate security or predictability. Recent legislative changes aim to protect workers by ensuring they are not unfairly treated and have access to regular hours if their work patterns warrant it.
The new rules place a greater emphasis on employers to provide a reasonable level of predictability in work schedules and to offer workers the opportunity to request a more stable work pattern. This includes a duty to consider any requests for more predictable hours and to provide a clear explanation if a request is denied. Ignoring these changes could lead to legal challenges and reputational damage.
What are the new requirements for assessing hours worked under zero-hours contracts from 2027?
From 2027, employers will be legally required to assess the actual hours worked by individuals on zero-hours contracts over a 12-week period. This assessment will determine whether the worker’s working pattern has become regular. If a pattern of regular hours emerges, employers will be obliged to offer the worker a contract that reflects those hours. This doesn’t automatically mean a permanent contract, but it requires employers to provide a more predictable level of work and compensation.
This new requirement aims to address the uncertainty faced by workers on zero-hours contracts and to ensure they receive fair treatment. Employers need to implement systems to accurately track hours worked and be prepared to offer contracts that reflect established work patterns. Failing to do so could result in legal action and financial penalties. Accurate record-keeping is essential to demonstrate compliance.
How can employers ensure compliance with worker protections while using zero-hours contracts?
To ensure compliance with worker protections while using zero-hours contracts, employers must prioritise fair treatment and transparency. This includes providing clear written agreements outlining the terms of the contract, including the lack of guaranteed hours and the right to refuse work. Employers must ensure workers receive at least the National Minimum Wage and are not discriminated against compared to other employees.
Regularly reviewing working practices and ensuring fair scheduling practices are essential. It is also vital to be prepared for the 2027 changes and implement systems to accurately track hours worked. Employers should also be open to considering requests for more predictable hours and provide clear explanations if requests are denied. Proactive compliance will not only mitigate legal risks but also enhance the employer's reputation and attract skilled workers.
When using zero-hours contracts, prioritise legal compliance and fair treatment of workers. Implement robust systems to track hours worked, especially in preparation for the 2027 changes. Be proactive in assessing hours and offering regular contracts when appropriate. Avoid using zero-hours contracts as a way to avoid providing workers with basic employment rights. A transparent and ethical approach will minimise risk and foster a positive work environment.
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Can I Hire Someone on a Zero-Hours Contract?
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Read the transcript
Yes, zero-hours contracts are legal in the UK. But whether you can use one correctly is a different question entirely, and that gap is where most employers get into trouble.
A zero-hours contract means the employer has no obligation to offer a minimum number of hours, and the worker has no obligation to accept any work offered. That mutual flexibility is the whole point. The contract must still include a written statement of terms from day one: how shifts are offered, how pay works, and how the arrangement can end. One thing you cannot include is an exclusivity clause. Under UK law, zero-hours workers are free to work for other employers. So the baseline is clear.
But here is where most employers make their mistake: they assume the contract type determines what rights apply. It does not.
As Acas makes clear: rights are based on employment status, not on having a zero-hours contract. And employment status is determined by how the relationship actually operates, not by what the contract is labelled. So what does that mean in practice? Take someone hired on a zero-hours basis to cover occasional demand spikes. If, over time, they work every Monday and Friday without fail, a tribunal may look at that pattern and conclude the relationship is more like regular employment than casual work. The label on the contract does not override the reality of the arrangement. The rights that attach to a zero-hours worker depend on whether they are classified as a worker or an employee, and that classification affects holiday pay entitlement, protection from discrimination, rest break rights, and, after sufficient service, unfair dismissal protection.
You cannot contract out of those obligations. If the working pattern looks like employment, it may be treated as employment. That is the risk most employers do not see coming.
The practical rule: use a zero-hours contract only when demand is genuinely irregular and unpredictable. Seasonal cover, event staffing, on-call roles where shifts vary week to week. If the role has a predictable core, a part-time or fixed-hours contract is almost always the cleaner choice. And there is a reform on the horizon you need to know about. Under the Employment Rights Act 2025, changes expected around 2027 will require employers to assess hours worked over a reference period, likely around 12 weeks, and offer a contract that reflects any regular pattern that has emerged. Shift notice requirements will also be formalised. So even if your current zero-hours arrangement is legally sound today, the rules are tightening.
The decision rule is this: if the work is irregular in reality, a zero-hours contract is a legitimate tool. If the work is regular in practice, the contract label will not protect you now, and it will protect you even less from 2027 onwards.
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We reviewed 35 sources, including 3 primary-authority publishers, and selected 8 for citation below (2 primary).
- uk.indeed.com, Employer's guide to zero-hours contracts
- GOV.UK, GOV.UK
- WorkplaceComply, WorkplaceComply
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- Zero Hours Contracts: when to use one & what to include | SeedLegals
- Zero hour contract changes and employer rules in 2026
- Zero-Hour Contract example | PDF & Word | Lawdistrict
- Zero-Hours Contracts — What's Changing in October 2026 and 2027 | WorkplaceComply