1m 'on zero hours contracts'

Current and former employees on zero hours contracts have been contacting our Business Editor Laura Kuenssberg. Here is a selection of their comments:

Read: When is a job not a job? The rise of 'zero hours' contracts

Rochelle Monte, a domiciliary care worker in Manchester who is on a zero hours contract, says her shifts "can change dramatically over the space of a week".

Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme, she said "I give my employer my availability and hope for the best".

"You don't know how much you're going to be earning month on month and it can be really difficult to plan financially," she added.

Asked if she sees the added flexibility as an advantage, she said she could theoretically turn work down but that she never would for fear of losing out on future work.

Vidhya Alakeson, deputy chief executive of the Resolution Foundation thinktank, has said that if today's figures are true, they show that zero hours contracts can "no longer be dismissed as an issue affecting only a tiny minority".

People on zero hours contracts are expected to be on call for work, although they are not guaranteed any regular hours.

One worker, who did not want to be identified, told ITV News that her contract makes it almost impossible to budget from one week to the next, and even harder to save.

She said she felt an obligation never to turn down a shift when it was offered, and that she was regularly called into work on the off-chance that a position could become available.

She said: "Sometimes they make you wait around for an hour to see if there are any positions available. If there aren't you have to go home and that's a day's wage lost ."

Read: When is a job not a job? The rise of 'zero hours' contracts

Zero hours contracts should be the "exception to the rule," according to Shadow Business Secretary Chuka Umunna.

"Whilst some employees welcome the flexibility of such contracts, for many zero hours contracts leave them insecure, unsure of when work will come, and undermining family life,"he said.

"The 'review' the Business Secretary has established into zero hours contracts is clearly inadequate given the seriousness of this issue and the mounting evidence of the abuse of zero hours contracts. Nothing less than a proper consultation with a formal call for evidence will do.

Dave Prentis, general secretary of the Unison union, says zero hours contracts favour employers and make it harder for staff to complain.

He said: "The vast majority of workers are only on these contracts because they have no choice. They may give flexibility to a few, but the balance of power favours the employers and makes it hard for workers to complain.

"Not knowing from week-to-week what money you have coming in to buy food and pay your bills is extremely nerve-wracking. Having your working hours varied at short notice is also stressful and it makes planning, childcare arrangements and budgeting hard.

He added that zero hour contracts also call into question unemployment figures, which, he says, do not include those on zero hours who may not have any work.

Business Secretary Vince Cable has ordered a review of zero-hours contracts, saying little is known of the impact they have on employees.

He said: "For some these can be the right sort of employment contract, giving workers a choice of working patterns. However for a contract that is now more widely used, we know relatively little about its effect on employers and employees.

"There has been anecdotal evidence of abuse by certain employers - including in the public sector - of some vulnerable workers at the margins of the labour market.

"Whilst it's important our workforce remains flexible, it is equally important that it is treated fairly. This is why I have asked my officials to undertake some work over the summer to better understand how this type of contract is working in practice today."

The University and College Union (UCU) has said zero-hours contracts are bad for both students and teaching staff alike - denying staff financial security and denying students continuity with their teachers.

President Simon Renton said: "Without a guaranteed income, workers on zero-hours contracts are unable to make financial or employment plans on a year-to-year, or even month-to-month basis.

"This research shows that young people are particularly vulnerable to zero-hours contracts and a large number of workers do want more hours each week.

"Zero-hours contracts are the unacceptable underbelly of further and higher education as staff are denied full employee status and key employment rights. Students miss out on a lack of continuity and often receive reduced access to staff employed on minimal hours."

Read more: When is a job not a job? The rise of 'zero hours' contracts