Zero hour contract - care agency

[Deleted User]

My son is on a zero hour contract as a carer . The contract does not state minimum hours or set pattern of work. However, he does work Thursday, Friday and Saturday .

The contract does include a clause that the employer has the right to refuse a holiday request . This seems unreasonable to me, because a worker under a zero contract is not on any contractual obligations . I dont understand how this clause can legally be included in a zero hour contract.

He made a holiday request 4 weeks ago , for holiday booked in October. It has still not been accepted , he has been told by his manager that they might not be able to arrange cover, hence still not been approved. He is happy to work Thursday, Friday and Saturday, but did not sign up for this 52 weeks a year.

It has put a dampener on the holiday to be honest.

SeduLOUs

If he is on zero hours contract couldn't he just turn down the shifts for that week when they are offered?

The risk being if he turns down work he might not be offered any more. One of the major downsides of zero hours.

[Deleted User]

Hi I understand what you are saying, but my son is entitled to annual leave, which he is requesting.

My other point is that the employer has a clause in the contract that an annual leave request can be refused - I dont understand how they can include this clause in a zero hour contract.

There is a high demand for care workers in our area, so he would get another job easily. I wish he would tbh, but he likes his fellow workers .

BorisThomson

He has a right to take annual leave but the employer has the right to dictate when he can do so.

He can turn down shifts but as already suggested, will probably find himself being offered no further work. The high demand is more a case of high turnover, workers going from one company to the next and realising they're (mostly) all as bad as each other.

[Deleted User]

The fact that the company has the right to dictate when my son takes annual leave as a 'zero contract employee' seems really unfair.

My son does not have the same contractual obligations as an employee on a permanent contract.

He has accrued an entitlement to annual leave, he does not have any contracted hours.


They cant have it both ways surely, offer someone a zero contract and then expect them to adhere to the same conditions as someone on permanent contract.

FYI we live in an area of high % of elderly people , hence demand for care exceeds generally worker capacity.

suki1964

Yes they can

Most care and hospitality jobs are what are termed zero hour contracts. The employer still has the same duty of care to you, you accrue holiday pay and sick pay, they can tell you when you can and can not take a holiday

Your son just has to go in and say I'm not available to work those days and as I'm due X amount of holiday pay I would like that paid for that week

SeduLOUs

treetops wrote: »

They cant have it both ways surely, offer someone a zero contract and then expect them to adhere to the same conditions as someone on permanent contract.

Unfortunately that's precisely how it works.

If the staff don't play ball the employer can simply drop the hours to zero for no reason whatsoever and avoid all those pesky employment rights that prevent them from just sacking the people they don't like.

[Deleted User]

Thanks Suki1964, that is the route we are going down.

ReadingTim

treetops wrote: »

Thanks Suki1964, that is the route we are going down.

Do make sure he's accrued the "holiday" he's claiming for (obviously!) - otherwise it's a case of claiming pay for what's he's accrued, and not being paid for the rest: for example accrued 2 days, takes 5 = 3 days unpaid

suki1964

Ive worked on ZH and workers contracts the past 20 years and I've never had trouble with getting holiday pay or the days off I want. Obviously when working in hospitality I'm not daft enough to say I can't work on certain days like Mothering Sunday , Easter , etc. I usually let the employer know at the beginning of each month , or for big things like the family holiday, as soon as I book it
ZHC are made out to be such bad things and if you kick up a fuss you are going to be shown the door, I've never experienced that at all. It cost the companies to hire and train staff, they would rather not do that, they want good hardworking reliable staff and if your son is one of them, I'm sure he will get shifts as soon as he's back. Esp as its care work he's doing. The people he cares for also need continuity of carers. If he is working for a two bit outfit that do cut his hours,he now has experience and can apply elsewhere.

SeduLOUs

suki1964 wrote: »

ZHC are made out to be such bad things and if you kick up a fuss you are going to be shown the door, I've never experienced that at all.

Of course not everyone is evil, and your employer sounds quite reasonable.

However in the case of the OP, he has given four weeks notice of wanting some time off as holiday and they have provisionally said no due to cover issues and now appear to be ignoring. This seems awfully silly when the worker can simply reject work for that week anyway and if holidays have been accrued they will need to be paid out one way or another eventually.

It implies that they are not much like your employer, and are more like the type of company that want their staff to be at their beck and call as it suits them, and will drop them the second you 'let them down' and give your hours to the next person who comes along.