animal:
No good if you are single either & have all the bill to pay
Totally agree if your single and have fixed outgoings ie rent to pay every mnth then how do you know if on a zero hr contract that come end of mnth there is enough money to pay your rent and bills ie electric , gas , water etc
Zero Hours - Zero Gains -Zero Good. I have just redrawn the contracts for my local Royal British Legion Club. That is the problem with a committee having the final say. I can only do as I am told, which I am finding it difficult to do. 
My sister in law drives for 3 different companies all on a zero hours basis, the first company now want to offer her full time, she doesn’t want it, she gets plenty of work, a decent hourly rate (for driving a van £8.50th weekdays), she gets holiday pay.
The only thing she will lose out on is redundancy I’d assume, but having 3 jobs I’m sure if she lost one it wouldn’t matter too much.
NewLad:
My sister in law drives for 3 different companies all on a zero hours basis, the first company now want to offer her full time, she doesn’t want it, she gets plenty of work, a decent hourly rate (for driving a van £8.50th weekdays), she gets holiday pay.The only thing she will lose out on is redundancy I’d assume, but having 3 jobs I’m sure if she lost one it wouldn’t matter too much.
She is lucky, I have heard of companies wanting you to be available at all times for them, making it impossible to work elsewhere, some are trying to take advantage of an unscrupulous system, this is what the gvt doesn’t tell you when they say the jobless figure is down … I think the days of “proper jobs” is behind us, sadly.
fredthered:
If you buy a house (as people are being encouraged to do) and the mortgage is x amount every month, you’re on a zero hours deal, what does your lender do if you say ‘sorry, I’ve only done 2 hrs this month’ will you accept £12.70 and I’ll try and make it up next month?Can’t see the point myself in taking on debts that you’ll have little or any chance of repaying. Capitalism would appear to be a busted flush.
Don’t forget the average age of a driver is 53, by which point drivers are not expected to have on the whole, large mortgage applications pending…
Once you’ve got your foot in the door on a cheap mortgage, you can dtich the full time job in favour of part time work to suit, and the bank will never ask awkward questions providing you keep up those payments…
The month you get “only 2 hours work” (paid minimum £72 where I work) is the month you draw down some of that holiday pot you’ve built up.
Sure, it’s not nice being told you’ve got to have “impromptu days off” as holiday and all, but in the past 3 years I’ve been on zero hours at agency, I’ve had one 9 week stretch Jan-Feb 2012 and a 3 week stretch April 2013 where I got no work. The rest of the time there’s been plenty to go around to the point that I’m often turning work down.
I was offered a 12 hour contract at ADN once, but turned it down when they refused to “define” those 12 hours. I wanted to work nights and/or weekends.
I would probably have been given monday & tuesday 6am-midday every week 50 miles away, which I would have been obliged to do - HAD I signed up for such an “undefined” 12 hour deal. The weekend work was @ £14ph which I was interested in, the weekday work was £8.50ph. Nope, I’m not standing up there to get abused by contract like THAT. 
I wish I got to find out these things before taking the time and trouble to sign up, do the tests, etc.
Bugger the “regular hours” argument. I want as much money as possible in exchange for as little of my wasted time on commuting, waiting, etc as possible as well. I’m prepared to work every sunday to facilliate this, which suits me fine, as I’m often kicking my heels on sundays when I’m not working otherwise. 
Zero hours thus works better for me than “some undefined hours” anyday.
brados:
NewLad:
My sister in law drives for 3 different companies all on a zero hours basis, the first company now want to offer her full time, she doesn’t want it, she gets plenty of work, a decent hourly rate (for driving a van £8.50th weekdays), she gets holiday pay.The only thing she will lose out on is redundancy I’d assume, but having 3 jobs I’m sure if she lost one it wouldn’t matter too much.
She is lucky, I have heard of companies wanting you to be available at all times for them, making it impossible to work elsewhere, some are trying to take advantage of an unscrupulous system, this is what the gvt doesn’t tell you when they say the jobless figure is down … I think the days of “proper jobs” is behind us, sadly.
Then more fool the people who are taking these zero hours on like that, if zero hours suited me then I’d do it, but I’d make ■■■■ sure it works both ways, if I don’t want to work weekends and the phone rings unlucky sunshine, unless it’s worth my while, they can’t have it all ways and it’s upto the employee to tell the employer that there not prepared to be held to employment randsom, just in case they might need them.
I would never work on a zero hours contract, or agency, or self employed. I have x commitments and need y to cover it. I get paid a salary, with ot on top, so I know I take £520 basic a week, which I’m guaranteed as soon as I turn up on Monday morning. Could not live without the security
an explanation of zero hours contracts medievaleurope.mrdonn.org/commoners.html
brados:
She is lucky, I have heard of companies wanting you to be available at all times for them, making it impossible to work elsewhere, some are trying to take advantage of an unscrupulous system, this is what the gvt doesn’t tell you when they say the jobless figure is down … I think the days of “proper jobs” is behind us, sadly.
‘Employing’ people on zero-hour contracts gives a company almost all the flexibility of using agency drivers, but removes the agency’s cut from the equation. I can see why they do it even if I do vehemently disagree with zero-hour contracts. It is the people who allow said contracts to be part of the modern-day world of work who are to blame.
I used to work at a place which got on the zero-hour bandwagon, fortunately not until I’d been there for a number of years though. They had about 15 drivers on them. When busy it was OK for the zero-hour guys as they were getting a full week’s work, but come January or other quiet times they weren’t.
And of course, if one was to be belled up and asked to come in at short notice and they couldn’t, they then went to the bottom of the pile in typical agency-type fashion and could look forward to a couple of barren weeks.
Zero-hour contracts are more of a pox on the industry than agencies are, and that is saying something. They are yet another part of the race to the bottom. You are at their beck and call without any of the security.
rob22888:
Conor:
animal:
No good if you are single either & have all the bill to payPlenty of agency and self employed people seem to manage OK.
Difference for me is that with zero hour contracts it doesn’t seem as easy to go and work elsewhere when your employer has nothing doing for you. Like they want you to commit to them, but they don’t want to commit to you. Like working for an agency with only one client.
With zero hours there’s no obligation either way. If your zero hours employer rings and says you’re working next week and you have other plans then you don’t have to work.
The limited obligation works both ways.
NewLad:
brados:
NewLad:
My sister in law drives for 3 different companies all on a zero hours basis, the first company now want to offer her full time, she doesn’t want it, she gets plenty of work, a decent hourly rate (for driving a van £8.50th weekdays), she gets holiday pay.The only thing she will lose out on is redundancy I’d assume, but having 3 jobs I’m sure if she lost one it wouldn’t matter too much.
She is lucky, I have heard of companies wanting you to be available at all times for them, making it impossible to work elsewhere, some are trying to take advantage of an unscrupulous system, this is what the gvt doesn’t tell you when they say the jobless figure is down … I think the days of “proper jobs” is behind us, sadly.
Then more fool the people who are taking these zero hours on like that, if zero hours suited me then I’d do it, but I’d make ■■■■ sure it works both ways, if I don’t want to work weekends and the phone rings unlucky sunshine, unless it’s worth my while, they can’t have it all ways and it’s upto the employee to tell the employer that there not prepared to be held to employment randsom, just in case they might need them.
Also she isn’t the main earner, her wages are just spending money, I think it would be very different if her money was relied upon.
ROG:
We need more jobs or less people and the first is not going to happen but the second could easily be done
What… like genocide? 
mick.mh2racing:
rob22888:
Conor:
animal:
With zero hours there’s no obligation either way. If your zero hours employer rings and says you’re working next week and you have other plans then you don’t have to work.
Maybe, but your likely to fall right down the pecking order/list of gaffers favourites and find hours harder to pick up in future if you refuse work because your elsewhere. Most people don’t want the worry of keeping several bosses happy, so will save themselves for the job they prefer and ultimately end up worse off. I don’t think it’s a given you will always have the luxury of knowing when you will be working a week in advance, already plenty of reports of zero hour employers phoning staff up in the evening with a ‘change of plan’ and expecting them to pitch up in the morning.
rob22888:
mick.mh2racing:
rob22888:
Conor:
animal:
With zero hours there’s no obligation either way. If your zero hours employer rings and says you’re working next week and you have other plans then you don’t have to work.Maybe, but your likely to fall right down the pecking order/list of gaffers favourites and find hours harder to pick up in future if you refuse work because your elsewhere. Most people don’t want the worry of keeping several bosses happy, so will save themselves for the job they prefer and ultimately end up worse off. I don’t think it’s a given you will always have the luxury of knowing when you will be working a week in advance, already plenty of reports of zero hour employers phoning staff up in the evening with a ‘change of plan’ and expecting them to pitch up in the morning.
If you’re signing up with several agencies in the first place, chances are you never HAD any pecking order position at any one of those agencies.
When turning down work, I also notice that the gaffer is more ■■■■■■ off when you say “I’m not working because I don’t feel like working tonight” than “Sorry bud, I’m already booked out somewhere else”…
Accepting “last minute work” all the time, means You’ll very much go up the pecking order of being offered ever more - last minute jobs!
The interesting scenarios start happening when you take a third-agency booking for a job that’s later offered to you by your regular agency at a better rate! 
Professionalism dictates you let the first booking stand… But…? 