The core idea, in one sentence
If someone regularly works a certain number of hours for you, they will be entitled to be offered a contract that guarantees those hours.
The point is to stop people being kept on zero hours indefinitely while in practice working something close to full time. If the hours are really there, the contract should say so.
There will be a reference period over which the regular hours are measured. The precise length, and a good deal of the detail, sits in secondary legislation that has not been finalised at the time of writing. So anyone telling you exactly how it will work is guessing.
Pull your rotas for the last three months. If someone on zero hours has been working roughly the same shifts every week, they are the person this affects.
Notice of shifts, and cancelling them
Two related rights come with it. Workers get a right to reasonable notice of a shift, and a right to compensation where a shift is cancelled, moved or cut short at short notice.
For a lot of small operators this is the part that bites hardest, because rota changes at short notice are how the business copes with a quiet Tuesday or a sudden booking.
It does not stop you changing a rota. It means late changes start to have a price attached.
January 2027 also restricts fire and rehire
This is a separate change but it belongs in the same conversation, because both are about changing what someone's contract says.
Fire and rehire is where you end someone's contract and offer them a new one on different terms, usually because they would not agree to the change. Plenty of owners have done it without knowing it had a name.
From January 2027 that route is heavily restricted, and dismissing someone for refusing a variation becomes automatically unfair in most circumstances. If you have been putting off a contract change hoping to force it through later, later is going to be harder.
If you know you need to change someone's terms, start the conversation now rather than in the new year.
Why this hits small businesses hardest
A large employer has a rota system, an HR team and a person whose job is to watch legislation. You have a rota on a whiteboard and a Tuesday evening.
Zero hours contracts are also more common in exactly the sectors that make up a lot of the local economy here. Hospitality, hotels, care, events, retail and cleaning.
The honest read is that this will create real cost and real admin for businesses that are already tight. That is not a reason to ignore it, but it is a reason to look at it early rather than in December.
What to do before the detail lands
Look at who you actually have on zero or low hours, and what they genuinely work. If someone has worked twenty hours a week for a year, decide now whether you want to put that in a contract on your terms, or wait and do it on someone else's.
Tighten up how you record shifts offered, accepted and cancelled. Whatever the reference period turns out to be, you will need the data.
And be realistic about which roles genuinely need flexibility and which are zero hours out of habit. Some of these contracts exist because that is how it has always been done, not because the business needs it.
Separate the people who are on zero hours for a genuine business reason from the ones who are on it because nobody ever changed it.
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Frequently asked questions
Will zero hours contracts be banned?
No. The right is to be offered guaranteed hours where someone regularly works them. Genuine casual and variable work can continue, but keeping someone on zero hours while they effectively work fixed hours is what this is aimed at.
What if the worker prefers zero hours?
The framework is built around an offer, so a worker who genuinely prefers flexibility is expected to be able to stay as they are. Get the decision in writing when the time comes.
When exactly does this start?
During 2027, with the precise date and much of the detail still to be confirmed in secondary legislation. Treat anyone giving you exact mechanics today with caution.
Does this apply to agency workers?
The intention is that comparable protections extend to agency workers, but this is one of the areas where the detail is still being worked through. Check before you restructure around agency staff.
Key takeaways
- Zero and low hours workers gain a right to be offered guaranteed hours reflecting what they regularly work
- There will also be rights to reasonable notice of shifts and compensation for late cancellations
- The detail sits in secondary legislation that is not yet final, expected during 2027
- Fire and rehire is separately restricted from January 2027
- Start by checking your rotas against your contracts, because that gap is the whole issue
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