Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent assessment he has made of the causes of women of colour being more likely than white men and women to be employed on zero-hours contracts.

The Government is committed to building a fairer Britain and ensuring that equality and opportunity is available for all.

Overall, individuals on zero-hours contracts represent a very small proportion of the workforce – just 3%. For this small group, this may be the type of contract which works best for them. The majority of people (62%) on zero-hours contracts say that they do not want more hours.

Zero-hours contracts remain an important part of the UK’s flexible labour market, for both employers where there is not a constant demand for staff and for individuals who may need to balance work around other commitments such as childcare and study.