Are 'zero hour' employment contracts legal?

[sjwright]

Hi,

I'm subject to a zero hour contract, are these legal? And also, I am under 22 and paid �4.95, whereas my colleagues who have the exact same job title and role are paid �5.35 for simply being over 22, is this legal? Surely that is age discrimination? Also I've never seen or been given an employees handbook, where does the law stand with that?

Any help would be received with appreciation.

[CheekyChops]

a) Yes, zero hour contracts are legal.

b) The minimum wage for 22 year olds and over is �5.35 and for 18-21 yr olds it is �4.45. So, yes it is legal and you are actually getting 50p per hour more than they have to give you.

c) There isn't a law to saw that employees must receive an emplyees handbook. You should have a contract of employment but that is different.

[carl88]

Zero hour contracts are legal to the extent that they are contracts, but should not be confused with contracts of employment and should be avoided at all costs by anyone who wants stable regular work with a minimum number of hours.

Zero hour contracts are contracts on essentially casual contracts that require the "employee" to give non-casual commitments to the employer on casual terms and conditions. The "employee" is required to give a full-time work commitment without the rights to holiday pay, sickness pay, pension, redundancy and unfair dismissal rights that come with most full-time paid employment.

[carl88]

As regards the handbook issue, a contract of employment is usually made up of two types of terms - express and implied. Just because a particular term is not written down does not mean that you dont have a contract of employment.

All employees, regardless of the number of hours they work per week, are entitled to receive a written statement from their employer within two months of starting work. The statement should describe the main terms of the contract of employment. An employer may try to dismiss you for asking for the written terms and conditions of your job, even though you are entitled to this information by law. A common trick is to dismiss the worker at the two month point.

You are entitled to the statement even if your job finishes before the initial two months, as long as the job was supposed to last for more than one month and you have worked for at least a month. It is usually best to request the statement in writing and keep a copy of the letter, so that you can prove you asked for the statement.

An employee who wants a written statement can request one verbally or in writing. The written details do not all have to be included in the written statement of terms and conditions. They can also be given in the staff handbook which all the employees can have access to.
If you are aware that an employee handbook exists you have every right to ask for it as it will contain express terms of your contract, or the fine detail of those terms referred to in the written statement of particulars.

If your employer is refusing to give you a handbook, statement of particulars or is acting in any way to avoid giving you any confirmed particulars of your job you must seek expert advice.