Zero-hour workers can receive £95.85 per week SSP for up to 28 weeks. We are here to answer your questions about zero-hour contracts so that you are not exploited. It is only terminated by a labour dispute such as a strike or if the employee has terminated his contract in writing. If your employer says you are not entitled to sick pay, ask them to explain the reasons in writing. They must inform you of this on a form entitled Statutory sickness benefits and employee entitlement to benefits (SSP1). They should give it to you within 7 days of the illness. You will need the SSP1 form to apply for benefits. Although the economy has improved, zero-hour contracts are expected to continue to be widely used. Here are some reasons why: Employed persons are persons who work in the UK under an employment contract or in an office with income, or who are employed under other forms of contract but are classified as employees under SSP. A temporary worker meets this definition if they are hired under a contract of employment or are otherwise provided by agencies to work under the supervision, direction and control of the client. Every worker in the UK has rights, including workers on zero-hour contracts. However, the extent of these rights depends on how your job is defined – employee, self-employed or employee. RMT`s Mick Lynch recently called zero-hour contracts a “national disgrace.” The president of the railway union has called for it to be declared illegal in response to allegations that striking railway workers are preventing people working on zero-hour contracts from coming to work, meaning they would miss a day`s pay.

An employee may refuse to sign a contract that does not guarantee them a certain number of hours, but there is no way to force an employer to provide a better contract. There is a common misconception that a zero-hour contract worker has no legal rights. That`s not true. You are entitled to basic statutory employment rights such as the National Minimum Wage (NMW), paid holidays and statutory breaks, depending on the hours you have to work. For example, if your employee`s first full sick day is 21. January 2017, the RP for a monthly or weekly salary is: The right to statutory maternity benefit or sickness benefit still exists for people on zero-hour contracts, but the requirements can be difficult to meet for someone who does not receive a guaranteed income. In all sectors where zero-hour contracts have become commonplace, including retail, hospitality, social protection and the gig economy, unions are making profits for workers, whether by taking test cases to labour courts, campaigning against abuses, negotiating improvements in working conditions or helping workers network and organize. For a worker employed on a zero-hour contract to be eligible for statutory sickness benefit, they must meet the underincome threshold and earn at least £120 or more per week on average (the average weekly wage or AWE for the 2020-2021 financial year). Your entitlement to sickness benefits depends on whether or not your illness is related to your pregnancy. The end date of the relevant period is the last day of normal pay before the first full day of illness. If the new contract starts within 8 weeks of the end of the old contract, the 2 contracts will be treated as one contract if they are concluded with the same employer. If the employee performed work under the old contract, they will be entitled to the SSP at the beginning of the next contract, even if they did not perform any work under the new contract.

Employers benefit from zero-hour contracts because they don`t have to pay workers when they are not needed. You only have to pay employees when they are working, and you can expect these employees to be available at all times and on short notice. Some contracts require an employee to accept any shift offered to them, while others allow them to refuse shifts if they do not want to work at that time. Learn more about sickness benefits during pregnancy. A person who works full-time is legally entitled to 28 days (including public holidays) of paid leave. Employees on casual contracts are entitled to annual leave from the first day of their employment, just like a normal full-time employee. “The UK is one of some half-dozen European countries where zero-hour contracts are both legal and quite common,” fact-checkers said in 2016, triggered by former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn`s claim that zero-hour contracts are not allowed in 11 EU countries. Unions such as TUC, Unison, Unite and GMB have been calling for an end to zero-hour contracts for years. Zero-hour workers can receive £95.85 per week for SSP for up to 28 weeks. However, you are not entitled to the SSP for the first 3 days, also known as waiting days. If the person falls ill between two contracts, there is no entitlement to the SSP for the period between contracts. Net Lawman offers a wide range of employment contract templates, including zero-hour contract templates, which cover all legal requirements and provide the employer with comprehensive protection of an employee`s employment under this type of employment contract.

If Matt`s first full sick day was June 17, 2020 and he was paid every Friday, the last pay day before his first day of sick leave was June 12, 2020. This is the end date of the relevant period. Whether a person is a worker or an employee, they have certain rights. For example, they must receive minimum wage, take breaks and be protected from overwork and illegal wage deductions.