What is a zero-hours contract?
‘Zero-hours contract’ is a general term. It usually means a contract, or another type of working arrangement, where your employer does not promise regular work or a minimum number of paid hours. In practice, the amount of work you are offered may go up or down. This depends on what the employer needs.
These contracts are often used in work where staffing needs can change quickly. This might be:
short-term casual jobs. This includes work taken on by students during school, college or university breaks
- some roles in social care. Where rotas may change from week to week
- driving or courier jobs. Where the amount of work depends on demand
- platform-based work. For example, delivering orders or providing transport through an app
- jobs in cafés, bars, restaurants and hotels. Where busy periods can vary
- warehouse or fulfilment work. Especially where demand rises at certain times of year.
There may be other kinds of work where needs can change quickly.
Zero-hours contracts can give you flexibility. But they can also make it harder to know about:
- working time
- pay
- day-to-day planning.
This page tells you what zero-hours contracts are. It also explains what rights you have now and what changes are going to happen under the Employment Rights Act 2025.
Your rights now
If you are told you are on a zero-hours contract, that does not definitely decide your rights. What matters in law is your employment status. This usually depends on what your working relationship is really like. Including:
- how regular your work is
- how much control your employer has
- if you are expected to do the work yourself.
For more information on employment status see here.
If you are on a zero-hours contract the law may class you as either a worker or an employee. Employees usually have a wider range of legal protections. The difference can matter a lot.
For example, if you sometimes pick up shifts for different places of work, you may be more likely be a worker. If you often work set hours for one place of work, over a longer period, you may more likely be an employee. The answer will always depend on the facts.
Depending on if you are a worker or an employee, you may have rights including:
- paid holiday
- the National Minimum Wage
- rest breaks
- protection from discrimination
- itemised pay slips
- health and safety protection
- protection from whistleblowing detriment.
If you are an employee, you may have more rights. These can include rights around:
- Protection from unfair dismissal
- Protection from redundancy
- pay
- family-related rights.
You can find more on our employment rights page.
What your employer cannot do
Your employer cannot do whatever it wants just because you are on a zero-hours contract.
For example, your employer cannot usually stop you from looking for work elsewhere. Or accepting work elsewhere. A contract term that tries to stop you doing this is not usually enforceable.
Upcoming changes
The Employment Rights Act 2025 is now law. But most of the changes on zero-hours and low-hours arrangements have not yet come into force.
The Act does not ban zero-hours contracts. But it does make big changes. The aim is to deal with the uneven balance of power between employers and workers. The aim is to make it easier for you to plan childcare, travel and your finances.
The changes below should make work easier to plan for if you are on a zero-hours contract.
The main expected changes are:
- guaranteed hours in some cases
- reasonable notice of shifts
- compensation for some shifts which are cancelled, moved or cut short at short notice.
These changes are subject to consultation
Reasonable notice of shifts
This change is expected in 2027. The exact start date has not yet been confirmed.
Right now, there is no general right to advance notice of shifts.
Under the new rules, employers are expected to give you reasonable notice of:
- the shift date
- the start and finish time
- the number of hours requested.
Guaranteed hours
This change is also expected in 2027.
This may affect you if you often work more hours than your contract says. You may have to be offered guaranteed hours. These hours should better reflect the reality of your job.
This is expected to apply to some low-hours arrangements too, not just zero-hours contracts.
The offer is expected to be based on the hours you have actually worked over a set period.
This will likely be a repeated duty, not a one-off offer. You should be able to accept or refuse the offer.
The Act should also to give you the right to challenge an employer in an Employment Tribunal if it does not follow the new rules once they are in force.
Cancelled, moved or shortened shifts
At the moment, there is no general right to compensation if your shift is cancelled, moved or cut short. This is unless your contract says otherwise.
From 2027, you may be entitled to compensation in some cases. This might be if your shift is cancelled, moved or cut short at short notice.
Similar protections are also expected for some agency workers.
The government has not yet said exactly what will count as short notice. It has not said how compensation will be worked out.
In summary
Zero-hours contracts are not unlawful. The flexibility they can offer might work well for you. But they can also mean you are not sure about your hours, income and notice of work.
The current law already gives you some important protections. Especially around holiday pay, minimum wage and protection from discrimination. Knowing your rights at work is important. You may have a legal claim if your employer breaches them.
The Employment Rights Act 2025 is expected to bring in more protections. These are to do with guaranteed hours, shift notice and cancelled shifts. But a lot of the details are still to come. Until those changes take effect, it is still important to check both your written contract and the reality of your working arrangements. You can then assess your rights.