In limbo: A week in the life of zero-hour contract workers

Posted on by Alice MartinGeorge WilliamsJessica Redmond

Image of a white young woman and a white man working in a bar. © Adobe Stock

In March 2026, a record 1.24 million people were employed on zero-hour contracts. The current Government came into office pledging to end one-sided flexibility by banning ‘exploitative’ zero-hour contracts.

The Employment Rights Act 2025 will introduce new rights to guaranteed hours, reasonable notice of shifts and payment for shifts cancelled or curtailed at short notice. However, at the time of publishing, critical decisions remain to be taken over how these rights will be effective in practice when they come into force in 2027.

To understand the impact that different policy choices could have on the experiences of zero-hour contract workers, the Work Foundation at Lancaster University conducted interviews and seven-day work week digital diaries with nine people across the UK who rely on zero-hour contracts as their main source of income. This research was supported by the TUC.

Key findings include:

  • Work-life chaos: Zero-hour contracts made participants’ lives chaotic and hard to manage. A lack of guaranteed hours, last minute shift cancellations, call-ins to work and changes to shift timings negatively impacted personal lives and adversely affected wellbeing.
  • Financial insecurity: Fluctuating hours, shift cancellations and early finishes made managing personal finances a challenge. All participants regularly expressed concern that they may not obtain enough paid hours to meet their bills, whilst those with children experienced additional financial burdens.
  • Power dynamics: Participants described being afraid of making their shift manager upset for fear of retribution, such as the loss of future shifts. The power imbalance also contributed to feeling pressured to accept last-minute shift requests, cancellations or changes.
  • Living in limbo: Participants described feeling like they were in ‘limbo’, ‘stuck’ or ‘trapped’. Many felt they had no alternative and that zero-hour work provided little opportunity for progression, and could not envision how they could move beyond contract work.

Recommendations

Ahead of the roll-out of zero-hour contract reforms in 2027, this report recommends:

  1. The Government must define ‘reasonable’ notice of shifts as 28 days in advance and set out a requirement that employers must provide full payment for cancelling or curtailing shifts less than a week in advance.
  2. The Employment Rights Act contains a new right to a contract reflecting guaranteed hours for workers on zero hour and low hour contracts. The Government must define what is meant by 'low hours' and ensure it is not set too low which would enable employers to sidestep the new right.
  3. Enforcement through the Fair Work Agency must be adequately resourced and kept under ongoing review to ensure workers are empowered to take up their right to guaranteed hours contracts.

Read the full report here.

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