Calls for stronger worker protection as over-50s on zero-hour contracts soar
Older workers now account for a quarter of all zero-hour contract workers in the UK.
The government is being urged to strengthen protections for workers, following a sharp rise in the number of over-50s on zero-hour contracts.
Research by Rest Less, a digital community for people aged 50 and above, shows that more than 300,000 workers in this age group are now employed on zero-hour contracts in Britain, up from 190,000 a decade ago. Older workers now account for a quarter of all zero-hour contract workers in the UK.
Rest Less chief executive Stuart Lewis explained that this increase reflects both the evolving nature of work and the growing pressure on older workers to accept less secure employment. While zero-hour contracts can offer flexibility for some, allowing them to balance work with other life commitments, Lewis said that for others, they are often the only option available and older workers can find themselves “shut out of standard employment opportunities due to age discrimination.”
Lewis is also calling for stronger worker protections in the Labour Party’s employment reform plans.
The report comes after Steve Wright, head of the Fire Brigades Union (FBU), raised the alarm in January over potential threats to workers’ rights under the government’s economic policies.
Wright expressed support for Labour’s employment rights legislation but urged the party to take decisive action to protect workers, particularly with regard to zero-hour contracts and unfair dismissal protections.
He insisted that additional protection against unfair dismissal must come into force by this summer at the very latest.
“The full delivery of the Labour manifesto commitment on workers’ rights must be reflected in substantial pay rises for firefighters and all other workers.”
Wright also warned that any attempt to scale back workers’ rights or suppress pay rises would face strong opposition.
Following Rest Less’s report on the over 50s and zero-hour contracts, a spokesperson from the business and trade department said:
“Our Employment Rights Bill will ensure workers can have flexibility that suits them as well as their employer by giving people the right to a guaranteed hours contract. Those who want to remain on their current arrangement can do so.”
“These measures are not about restricting choice, they are seeking to end exploitative zero-hour contracts. We are committed to ending one-sided flexibility to ensure workers who want to have more predictability are able to.”
Today
LEFT FOOT FORWARD
LEFT FOOT FORWARD
Older workers now account for a quarter of all zero-hour contract workers in the UK.
The government is being urged to strengthen protections for workers, following a sharp rise in the number of over-50s on zero-hour contracts.
Research by Rest Less, a digital community for people aged 50 and above, shows that more than 300,000 workers in this age group are now employed on zero-hour contracts in Britain, up from 190,000 a decade ago. Older workers now account for a quarter of all zero-hour contract workers in the UK.
Rest Less chief executive Stuart Lewis explained that this increase reflects both the evolving nature of work and the growing pressure on older workers to accept less secure employment. While zero-hour contracts can offer flexibility for some, allowing them to balance work with other life commitments, Lewis said that for others, they are often the only option available and older workers can find themselves “shut out of standard employment opportunities due to age discrimination.”
Lewis is also calling for stronger worker protections in the Labour Party’s employment reform plans.
The report comes after Steve Wright, head of the Fire Brigades Union (FBU), raised the alarm in January over potential threats to workers’ rights under the government’s economic policies.
Wright expressed support for Labour’s employment rights legislation but urged the party to take decisive action to protect workers, particularly with regard to zero-hour contracts and unfair dismissal protections.
He insisted that additional protection against unfair dismissal must come into force by this summer at the very latest.
“The full delivery of the Labour manifesto commitment on workers’ rights must be reflected in substantial pay rises for firefighters and all other workers.”
Wright also warned that any attempt to scale back workers’ rights or suppress pay rises would face strong opposition.
Following Rest Less’s report on the over 50s and zero-hour contracts, a spokesperson from the business and trade department said:
“Our Employment Rights Bill will ensure workers can have flexibility that suits them as well as their employer by giving people the right to a guaranteed hours contract. Those who want to remain on their current arrangement can do so.”
“These measures are not about restricting choice, they are seeking to end exploitative zero-hour contracts. We are committed to ending one-sided flexibility to ensure workers who want to have more predictability are able to.”
Sexist system means women more likely to be on zero hour contracts
Low-paid, insecure and part time work is forced on women
The UK Women’s March in London on 18 January (Picture: Guy Smallman)
By Sarah Bates
Thursday 06 March 2025
Thursday 06 March 2025
\SOCIALIST WORKER Issue
A sexist system is forcing women into low-paid, insecure jobs.
Women are a third more likely to be on zero-hours contracts than men—and more likely to stay on them for more than a year.
And they are overrepresented in eight of the ten occupations with the highest numbers of zero-hours contracts.
Those are the damning findings of new research from the TUC trade union federation. Paul Nowak, TUC general secretary, said, “As ever, women workers are bearing the brunt.
“They are more likely to be concentrated in sectors with endemic levels of insecure work.
The research backs up what socialists say about how women under capitalism face the double burden of work and childcare and domestic labour.
Low-paid, insecure and part time work isn’t chosen by women—it is forced on to them.
Sexist ideas about women as “naturally caring” or “care givers” sees them pushed into the sorts of jobs.
Women often take jobs in sectors such as social care and hospitality because they tend to be able to fit in around the rhythms of family life.
Sky-high childcare costs mean that many families are unable to support both parents working full time jobs.
The raft of childcare facilities closing down, alongside long school holidays, means that it often makes sense to have one parent ready to step in. Because of the sexist ideas about parenting it is often women who take on this role.
Just last week it was revealed that some 74,000 women lose their jobs each year for getting pregnant or taking maternity leave.
Bosses target pregnant women and those with families because their caring responsibilities can sometimes get in the way of maximising profits. As a result, many are forced to take poorly-paying roles in other sectors.
It is a damning indictment of all the ways in which life is getting harder for women. Instead of aspiring to smash the “glass ceiling” of the capitalist workplace, working class women are consigned to the “sticky floor”.
The relationship between work and family life often sits at the centre of women’s daily experience. They are often forced to balance impossible work demands with the chaos and pressures of family life.
Ensuring that women have access to high quality, cheap childcare would be a first step to challenging the sexism within work.
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