Fórsa has welcomed legislation banning zero hour contracts, which came into force earlier this month. The Employment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2018, requires employers to give their staff details of their core terms of employment within five days of starting work.

It also includes provisions on “banded” hours, requiring the employer to place those whose contracts don’t reflect their working hours in a band that reflects the hours they actually worked over the previous 12-month period.

The only exceptions are work carried out in “emergency circumstances” or short-term relief work to cover routine absences. The legislation also includes provisions to protect workers who are called in, then sent home without getting any work. A minimum payment must now be granted to them.

Fórsa’s head of communications Bernard Harbor welcomed the act as a step forward for the protection of workers’ rights.

“Unions campaigned hard for these reforms, which will ensure that worker’s hours are more predictable and secure. However, there is an urgent need for greater protection for workers in so-called gig ‘economy’ platforms which still has to be addressed,” he said.

You can find the Employment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2018 HERE and information on rights in relation to zero hour contracts HERE.