Asked by: Michael Wheeler (Labour - Worsley and Eccles)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 11 June 2026 to Question 9197, and with reference to his Department's impact assessment entitled ZHCs - Right to Guaranteed Hours, published 21 October 2024, for what policy reason the hours threshold for the right to guaranteed hours is chosen to be between 8 and 20 hours per week.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Minister of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)
The government’s preference is for the hours threshold for the right to guaranteed hours to be between 8 and 20 hours per week, on the basis that options in this range are more likely to provide a favourable balance of costs and benefits. A baseline of 8 hours per week mitigates against potential avoidance behaviour of employers moving zero hours workers to contracts with a very low number of hours.
The consultation includes evidence from the Living Wage Foundation which shows that the percentage of workers working above contracted hours decreases with the number of contracted hours, with only around 19% of those with between 16-24 hours guaranteed working more hours than contracted.
Asked by: Michael Wheeler (Labour - Worsley and Eccles)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 11 June 2026 to Question 9197, and with reference to his Department's publication entitled Employment Rights Act 2025: economic analysis and enactment summary impact assessment, published 7 January 2026, for what policy reason the hours threshold for the right to guaranteed hours is chosen to be between 8 and 20 hours per week.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Minister of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)
The government’s preference is for the hours threshold for the right to guaranteed hours to be between 8 and 20 hours per week, on the basis that options in this range are more likely to provide a favourable balance of costs and benefits. A baseline of 8 hours per week mitigates against potential avoidance behaviour of employers moving zero hours workers to contracts with a very low number of hours.
The consultation includes evidence from the Living Wage Foundation which shows that the percentage of workers working above contracted hours decreases with the number of contracted hours, with only around 19% of those with between 16-24 hours guaranteed working more hours than contracted.
Asked by: Michael Wheeler (Labour - Worsley and Eccles)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 11 June 2026 to Question 9197 and with reference to page 19, paragraph 62 of his Department's impact assessment entitled ZHCs - Right to Guaranteed Hours, published 21 October 2024, if he will publish the sensitivity analysis undertaken when modelling the impacts of the guaranteed hours threshold.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Minister of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)
The government has published the 2024 guaranteed hours impact assessment, including the results of the sensitivity analysis referred to in paragraph 62. The impact assessment made clear that many policy details, including eligibility and the process for making offers, would be set in secondary legislation following consultation. To account for this uncertainty, the impact assessment undertook sensitivity analysis in line with the Green Book, varying key assumptions around the potential population in scope and the time employers would take to familiarise with and implement the obligations associated with the right, as well as track hours and formalise guaranteed hours offers.
Asked by: Michael Wheeler (Labour - Worsley and Eccles)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 11 June 2026 to Question 9197, and with reference to page 19, paragraph 62 of his Department's impact assessment entitled ZHCs - Right to Guaranteed Hours, published 21 October 2024, what the key assumptions in the sensitivity analysis were.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Minister of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)
The 2024 guaranteed hours impact assessment clarifies that many policy details, including eligibility and the process for making offers, would be set in secondary legislation following consultation. To account for this uncertainty, the impact assessment undertook sensitivity analysis in line with the Green Book, varying key assumptions around the potential population in scope and the time employers would take to familiarise with and, implement the obligations associated with the right, as well as track hours and formalise guaranteed hours offers. These assumptions are included within the impact assessment.
Asked by: Michael Wheeler (Labour - Worsley and Eccles)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to his Department's consultation document entitled Make Work Pay: ending one-sided flexibility – reforms of zero hours and similar contracts, published on 2 June 2026, whether his Department assessed the relationship between each proposed hours threshold and the earnings required to meet basic living costs.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Minister of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)
The government has published a comprehensive assessment of the potential impacts from the zero hours contract measures in the Employment Rights Act 2025 and will publish further analysis in due course. This includes an assessment of the impact of the measures on low-paid workers.
The government’s preference is for the hours threshold for the right to guaranteed hours to be between 8 and 20 hours per week, on the basis that options in this range are more likely to provide a favourable balance of costs and benefits. A baseline of 8 hours per week mitigates against potential avoidance behaviour of employers moving zero hours workers to contracts with a very low number of hours. We believe that options up to 20 hours per week would be more likely to ensure that workers experiencing one-sided flexibility benefited from the right to guaranteed hours, while balancing the need to be proportionate in the costs to employers and the potential for unintended impacts.
Asked by: Michael Wheeler (Labour - Worsley and Eccles)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to his Department’s consultation document entitled Make Work Pay: ending one-sided flexibility – reforms of zero hours and similar contracts, published on 2 June 2026, how many meetings with businesses his Department had when concluding the Government’s preference is to set the threshold within 8 to 20 hours per week.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Minister of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)
Ministers and officials have engaged extensively with business, trade unions and representative organisations on the zero hours measures in the Employment Rights Act 2025, informing the development of the consultation.
We have held over 13 individual meetings and more than 6 roundtables with businesses on these measures. We have held over 11 individual meetings and more than 4 roundtables with trade unions alongside wider engagement on Make Work Pay. We continue to meet regularly with business representative organisations and trade unions.
Asked by: Michael Wheeler (Labour - Worsley and Eccles)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to his Department’s consultation document entitled Make Work Pay: ending one-sided flexibility – reforms of zero hours and similar contracts, published on 2 June 2026, what is the evidential basis for the Government's preference for an hours threshold within the range of 8 to 20 hours per week.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Minister of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)
The government has published a comprehensive assessment of the potential impacts from the zero hours contract measures in the Employment Rights Act 2025 and will publish further analysis in due course.
The government’s preference is for the hours threshold for the right to guaranteed hours to be between 8 and 20 hours per week, on the basis that options in this range are more likely to provide a favourable balance of costs and benefits. A baseline of 8 hours per week mitigates against potential avoidance behaviour of employers moving zero hours workers to contracts with a very low number of hours. We believe that options up to 20 hours per week would be more likely to ensure that workers experiencing one-sided flexibility benefited from the right to guaranteed hours, while balancing the need to be proportionate in the costs to employers and the potential for unintended impacts.
Asked by: Michael Wheeler (Labour - Worsley and Eccles)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to his Department's consultation document entitled Make Work Pay: ending one-sided flexibility – reforms of zero hours and similar contracts, published on 2 June 2026, what definition his Department uses of "income security" for the purpose of determining an hours threshold.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Minister of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)
Our focus is on giving income security to people who do not have it: particularly those with zero hours and similar contracts, who lack security and predictability.
The government’s preference is for the hours threshold for the right to guaranteed hours to be between 8 and 20 hours per week, on the basis that options in this range are more likely to provide a favourable balance of costs and benefits. A baseline of 8 hours per week mitigates against potential avoidance behaviour of employers moving zero hours workers to contracts with a very low number of hours. We believe that options up to 20 hours per week would be more likely to ensure that workers experiencing one-sided flexibility benefited from the right to guaranteed hours, while balancing the need to be proportionate in the costs to employers and the potential for unintended impacts.
Asked by: Michael Wheeler (Labour - Worsley and Eccles)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to his Department's consultation document entitled Make Work Pay: ending one-sided flexibility – reforms of zero hours and similar contracts, published on 2 June 2026, what is the evidential basis for the Government's preference for those with more than 20 guaranteed hours falling outside the scope of the proposed right.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Minister of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)
The government has published a comprehensive assessment of the potential impacts from the zero hours contract measures in the Employment Rights Act 2025 and will publish further analysis in due course.
The government’s preference for the hours threshold for the right to guaranteed hours is between 8 and 20 hours per week. A baseline of 8 hours per week mitigates against potential avoidance behaviour of employers while options up to 20 hours per week would be more likely to ensure that workers experiencing one-sided flexibility benefited from the right, while balancing the need to be proportionate in the costs to employers and the potential for unintended impacts.
Asked by: Michael Wheeler (Labour - Worsley and Eccles)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to his Department’s consultation document entitled Make Work Pay: ending one-sided flexibility – reforms of zero hours and similar contracts, published on 2 June 2026, whether his Department has estimated the number of workers who would be excluded from the right to guaranteed hours under thresholds of (a) 8, (b) 12, (c) 16, (d) 20 and (e) more than 20 guaranteed hours per week.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Minister of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to Question 8243 on 15 June 2026.