Shopworkers

According to evidence from retail workers’ union Usdaw to the Scottish Affairs Select Committee, in the retail sector many ZHC workers work broadly the same number of hours each week, suggesting that, while ZHCs are convenient for employers, the business case for using this kind of model in the sector is not strong.

The Committee heard that across the UK, 83,800 McDonald’s workers, 20,000 Burger King workers, approximately 20,000 Sports Direct workers, 24,000 JD Wetherspoon workers, 4,000 Boots the Chemist workers, 16,000 Spirit workers, 20,000 Dominos Pizza workers, 200 Tate workers, 600 Subway Sandwich workers and 3,600 Cineworld workers are all on such contracts.

However, the experience of other retailers suggests that there is no need for ZHCs and that instead, they are the result of lazy management. Usdaw points out how successful unionised retail businesses like Tesco, Morrisons and Sainsbury’s, do not use ZHCs. Instead, flexible contracts have been negotiated, providing workers with guaranteed hours, but still delivering the flexibility to meet business demands.