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UK zero-hours contracts hit 1.8m
(WebFG News) - According to the Office for National Statistics and the Labour Force Survey, 1.8m contracts in the UK do not guarantee workers a minimum number of hours, known as "zero-hours" contracts.
The results from November 2017 have increased since November 2016 when there was 1.7m contracts reported.
On average, someone working on a "zero-hours contract" usually works 25.2 hours a week and over a quarter of these people want more hours on their current job and not adding more hours with a second job.
The survey found that people on this type of contract tend to be young between ages of 16 to 24 years (36%), part-time (66%) or in full-time education (18.7%).
Women make up a bigger share of those working "zero-hours contracts" accounting for 54.7%.
Regarding the sector of work that is most common for this type of contracts the research found 22.6% of people are in the accomodation and food industry.
Stephen Clarke, a senior economic analyst at the Resolution Foundation thinktank, said on the issue: "The use of zero hours contracts increased rapidly in the wake of the financial crisis but our tightening labour market has curbed their growth.
"Nonetheless, around 900,000 workers are on a zero hours contract, including one in twelve young people. And while some workers appreciate the flexibility they bring, for others they bring insecurity and lower pay.
"The government can help both of these groups by providing a right to guaranteed hours for anyone who has in practice been doing regular hours on a zero hours contract for at least three months," he concluded