Zero-hours workers ‘earn nearly £300 a week less’

Nick Elvin

Zero-hours workers earn nearly £300 a week less, on average, than permanent employees, according to a report released this week by the TUC.

The Decent Jobs Deficit: The Human Cost of Zero-Hours Working and Casual Labour shows that average weekly earnings for zero-hours workers are just £188, compared to £479 for permanent workers.

The research also reveals that zero-hours workers are five times more likely not to qualify for statutory sick pay than permanent workers as a result of their lower level of take home pay.

Two-fifths (39%) of zero-hours workers earn less than £111 a week – the qualifying threshold for statutory sick pay – compared to 8% of permanent employees.

The TUC says the findings highlight the impact that the growth in precarious labour is having on workers’ pay and rights at work, and warns that this is a sign of the growing two-tier workforce.

The Decent Jobs Deficit also reveals that:

• One in four (23%) zero-hours workers work more than 35 hours a week, compared to 60% of other employees;
• Zero-hours contract workers were nearly five times as likely to have differing amounts of weekly pay compared to staff with other kinds of work arrangements;
• Women on zero-hours contracts earn £32 a week less, on average, than men employed on the same kind of contracts.

This week, the TUC launched its Decent Jobs Week campaign to draw attention to those people in the UK who are in low-paid and insecure work. They include the more than 1.4m zero-hours contracts in use, as well as agency and other casual workers who – due to the temporary nature of their employment – often lose out on basic rights at work.

Commenting on the report, TUC general secretary, Frances O’Grady said: “The growth of zero-hours contracts, along with other forms of precarious employment, is one of the main reasons why working people have seen their living standards worsen significantly in recent years.

“It is shocking that so many workers employed on these kind of contracts are on poverty pay and miss out on things that most of us take for granted like sick pay.

“While it is good to see employment is rising, if the UK doesn’t create more well-paid jobs with regular hours we will continue to have a two-tier workforce where many people are stuck in working poverty.

“The increase in casual labour also helps explain why income tax revenues are falling, which is not only bad for our public finances but for society too. The lack of regular hours and income makes it difficult for households to pay bills and take on financial commitments such as rents and mortgages.”