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Zero Hours Employment Contract
ERA 2025
A compliant zero hours employment contract for England and Wales, drafted for the Employment Rights Act 2025. Covers the guaranteed hours duty, exclusivity prohibition, day-one SSP reform, flexible working rights, anti-avoidance provisions, trade union rights statement, and ERA 2025 fire-and-rehire restrictions. Updated for the 6 April 2026 SSP changes.
What's included
- ✓Statement of particulars table
- ✓Shift notice and cancellation terms
- ✓ERA 2025 statutory rights drafting
Recent legal changes
Zero hours contracts have been progressively reformed in UK law. Exclusivity clauses preventing zero hours workers from working for other employers were banned in 2015 by the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015 amendments to the Employment Rights Act 1996. The Employment Rights Act 2025 introduces the most significant changes since: a right for workers to receive a guaranteed-hours contract reflecting their actual working pattern over a reference period, a right to reasonable notice of shifts, and a right to compensation where shifts are cancelled or curtailed at short notice. This template is drafted to comply with the new framework and to be defensible if a worker exercises the right to request a guaranteed-hours contract.
What is a Zero Hours Employment Contract?
A zero hours contract is a contract between an employer and a worker under which the employer is not obliged to provide any minimum number of working hours, and (in the typical form) the worker is not obliged to accept any work that is offered. The arrangement gives both sides flexibility but creates a power imbalance — the worker has no income guarantee and limited ability to plan, while the employer can vary labour costs in line with demand. Under the Employment Rights Act 2025, workers on zero hours arrangements who work regular hours over a reference period gain the right to be offered a contract that reflects those hours, removing the most exploitative use of the model. This template is drafted as a "no mutuality of obligation" zero hours contract, includes the statutory right-to-request language, and prohibits exclusivity in line with the post-2015 ban.
When do you need one?
Zero hours contracts are appropriate for genuinely irregular work where demand cannot be predicted and where neither party benefits from a fixed schedule. Common legitimate use cases include event staffing, hospitality cover during peak periods, on-call professional services, and seasonal retail. They are not appropriate for roles with predictable, recurring shift patterns — under the Employment Rights Act 2025, workers in such roles will have the right to request a guaranteed-hours contract reflecting their actual hours, and an employer who offers a zero hours contract for genuinely regular work invites a tribunal claim. This template should be issued at the start of the engagement, refreshed when terms change, and the employer should keep records of hours worked over each reference period to evidence whether a guaranteed-hours offer is required.
Last updated: 1 May 2026
Frequently asked questions
Can I include an exclusivity clause preventing the worker from working elsewhere?
No. Section 27A of the Employment Rights Act 1996 makes exclusivity clauses in zero hours contracts unenforceable, and the Exclusivity Terms in Zero Hours Contracts (Redress) Regulations 2015 give workers a right to claim if they are dismissed or subjected to detriment for working for another employer. This template explicitly permits the worker to undertake other work and includes only a reasonable confidentiality clause and an obligation not to act in conflict with the employer's interests during working hours.
What is the "reference period" for a guaranteed-hours request?
Under the Employment Rights Act 2025, a worker on a zero hours arrangement can request a guaranteed-hours contract that reflects the hours they have actually worked over a defined reference period. The exact length of the reference period is set by the Act and accompanying regulations and may be subject to commencement timing — at minimum, employers should keep accurate records of hours worked by zero hours workers and review whether the working pattern has become regular enough to trigger the right. This template includes a clause acknowledging the worker's statutory right to make such a request.
Does a zero hours worker have employee rights or worker rights?
This depends on the substance of the arrangement, not the label on the contract. If the worker is genuinely free to refuse work and the employer is genuinely free to offer none, the relationship is typically that of a worker rather than an employee — meaning no protection against unfair dismissal, no statutory redundancy pay, and no statutory notice rights. However, where an arrangement labelled "zero hours" in fact involves regular shifts, mutuality of obligation, and personal service, tribunals will look behind the label and may find that the worker is actually an employee. Employers should not rely on the contract label to determine status and should take legal advice if the working pattern has become regular.
How does this template interact with the right to a written statement of particulars?
Since 6 April 2020, every worker (not just employees) has a day-one right to a written statement of employment particulars under section 1 of the Employment Rights Act 1996. A zero hours contract, properly drafted, can serve as that section 1 statement provided it includes all the prescribed information — including hours of work, pay, holiday entitlement, and notice provisions. This template is drafted to satisfy the section 1 requirements when issued at or before the start of the engagement.