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An anatomy of zero‐hour contracts in the UK

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  • Maria Koumenta
  • Mark Williams

Abstract

We present the first attempt to locate zero‐hour contract (ZHC) jobs—jobs that lack a guaranteed minimum number of hours—within theoretical frameworks of the employment relationship and occupational class and empirically explore their characteristics using successive UK Labour Force Survey. In line with these theories, we find this contentious form of employment to be strongly differentiated by the nature of occupational tasks and to overlap with nonstandard employment features (e.g. part‐time and temporary). They are also highly concentrated in a small number of occupations and sectors, with over half of ZHC jobs found in just 10 occupations. We further show that ZHCs are associated with indicators of inferior job quality such as low pay and underemployment. Although we find no evidence that ZHCs are a particularly pervasive feature of the UK labour market, further growth cannot be ruled out in certain occupations.

Suggested Citation

  • Maria Koumenta & Mark Williams, 2019. "An anatomy of zero‐hour contracts in the UK," Industrial Relations Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 50(1), pages 20-40, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:indrel:v:50:y:2019:i:1:p:20-40
    DOI: 10.1111/irj.12233
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    Cited by:

    1. Egidio Farina & Colin Green & Duncan McVicar, 2021. "Are Estimates of Non‐Standard Employment Wage Penalties Robust to Different Wage Measures? The Case of Zero‐hour Contracts in the UK," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 60(3), pages 370-399, July.
    2. Bernardo Fanfani & Filippo Passerini, 2024. "Do Alternative Work Arrangements Substitute Standard Employment? Evidence from Worker-Level Data," Working Papers wp1190, Dipartimento Scienze Economiche, Universita' di Bologna.
    3. Mark Williams & Senhu Wang & Maria Koumenta, 2024. "Ethnicity disparities in job control in the United Kingdom," Industrial Relations Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 55(1), pages 33-53, January.
    4. Egidio Farina & Colin Green & Duncan McVicar, 2020. "Zero Hours Contracts and Their Growth," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 58(3), pages 507-531, September.
    5. Ian Clark & James Hunter & Richard Pickford & Huw Fearnall-Williams, 2022. "How do licensing regimes limit worker interests? Evidence from informal employment in Britain," Economic and Industrial Democracy, Department of Economic History, Uppsala University, Sweden, vol. 43(1), pages 431-449, February.
    6. Avram, Silvia, 2020. "Zero-hours contracts: flexibility or insecurity? Experimental evidence from a low income population," ISER Working Paper Series 2020-10, Institute for Social and Economic Research.
    7. Farina, Egidio & Green, Colin P. & McVicar, Duncan, 2020. "Is Precarious Employment Bad for Worker Health? The Case of Zero Hours Contracts in the UK," IZA Discussion Papers 13116, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    8. Alison Preston & Robert E. Wright, 2020. "Exploring the gender difference in multiple job holding," Industrial Relations Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 51(4), pages 301-328, July.
    9. Egidio Farina & Colin Green & Duncan McVicar, 2024. "Zero hours contracts and self‐reported (mental) health in the UK," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 62(1), pages 50-71, March.

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