Move to change contracts for zero-hours staff working regular hours

Monday 17 July 2023

Zero-hours’ employees who work regular hours could soon have the right to ask to move to a contract that reflects those standard times, the Social Security Minister has said.

Deputy Elaine Millar told the States this week that she had instructed officials to amend the island’s Employment Law, with the change likely to come to the States for debate before the end of the year.

In making the proposed law change, Deputy Millar is enacting a pledge she made last month to accept all recommendations of the Employment Forum, which published a review of zero-hours contracts in April.

She said that she shared the concern of the Forum, an advisory body made up of employment professionals, that there is evidence that some employees in Jersey are working under a zero-hour contract but are employed on a working hours regime that is akin to regular part-time or full-time work.

“If someone is regularly working, say, 8-4 every day, then it is only right that their contract reflects that,” said Deputy Millar. “Someone on a zero-hours contract still has rights but they may be afforded more rights on a regular contract if they are working regular hours.”

Pictured: Social Security Minister Elaine Millar is implementing a recommendation of the Employment Forum.

11% of jobs in Jersey are zero hours, with the most being in hotels, restaurants and bars. In this sector, more than a quarter of the workforce are on zero-hours' contracts over the summer.

Having reviewed the operation and regulation of zero-hours contracts in Jersey, the Employment Forum suggests that the result of a request to amend a contract should be communicated to the employee within four weeks. 

It adds: “The onus should be on the employer to demonstrate why such a request should be denied and the employer should be clear when explaining its reasons. 

“The basis for a denial should be extremely limited in scope – for example, a foreseeable reduction in the number of hours required to be worked by the employee at the time the request is made - and provided for in express terms in the Employment Law. 

“Other examples of a justified denial might be the development of a 'regular' pattern to cover parental leave for a specific period of time, or the culmination of a short-term project for which the requirement for future resources will necessarily diminish.”

It adds: “Given that a six-month pattern of evidence would need to be established for an employee to make a request to amend, the Forum recommends that an employee be entitled to make one application in a 12-month period.”