REC Urges Wales to Ease 12-Week Zero-Hours Rule as UK Reform Covers 1 Million Workers
Updated
Updated · Nation.Cymru · May 25
REC Urges Wales to Ease 12-Week Zero-Hours Rule as UK Reform Covers 1 Million Workers
1 articles · Updated · Nation.Cymru · May 25
A May 21 letter from the Recruitment and Employment Confederation asked Welsh First Minister Rhun ap Iorwerth to support changes to the UK’s guaranteed-hours rules for zero-hours and flexible workers.
The business group wants employers to measure typical hours over six to 12 months, not the 12 weeks expected under the Employment Rights Act, saying a longer window better captures seasonal demand and project cycles.
REC warned the current design could raise labour costs, curb hiring flexibility and hurt youth employment during a fragile recovery, even though the Act itself has already passed and ministers are still setting the detailed regulations.
More than 1 million people in the UK work on zero-hours contracts; the government says guaranteed-hours offers are needed to end one-sided flexibility, give workers more predictable income and stop last-minute shift changes shifting risk onto staff.
Will the UK's 'guaranteed hours' law end worker precarity or just create new loopholes for employers?
With businesses warning of rising costs, will the new law for zero-hours workers actually harm youth employment?
Can a Welsh leader's appeal to London reshape a UK-wide law affecting over a million vulnerable workers?