Zero hour

A recent survey I read reveals that almost a third of UK manufacturing firms are in favour of zero-hours contracts.

After I climbed down off the ceiling I tried to think objectively about this – but hard as I try I really struggle with it. I must make it clear from the outset that I don’t run my own business so seeing a business owner’s perspective on this is difficult for me. Perhaps I would think differently if I was sitting on the other side of the fence. Who knows?

But hey ho that’s not going to stop me from venting my spleen. The problem as far as I can see with zero hours contracts is that they’re all about the here and now. Companies have a labour need that needs filling so they simply fulfil that requirement with no strings or baggage attached. But think about the wider implications. These are human beings we’re talking about, not robots.

For hundreds of years the whole fabric of society has been based around working men and women paying taxes, contributing to stuff like pension schemes, buying houses and generally planning as best they can for the future.

To accomplish these tasks, some degree of job security is a prerequisite. When a person has no idea of what income will be coming in each month, how on earth can he or she approach a mortgage lender with a view to buying a property, apply for a credit card or take out a mobile phone contract? How can that person plan for the future? Budgeting becomes virtually impossible when you have no idea what you’ll be earning or how often you’ll be asked to work.

Despite the stats, in the circles I move in I don’t actually see this happening – in fact more often than not it’s just the opposite. There’s a well-documented skills shortage in engineering and good engineers are like gold dust. Not surprising then that the companies I deal with actually value their good people and look after them. I guess with lesser skilled jobs, that value has degenerated into what has essentially become a throwaway commodity.

The counter argument would be that zero-hours contracts are better than nothing at all and help businesses respond quickly and efficiently to constantly changing levels of demand. I can’t argue with that in principle and in some instances the arrangement may actually suit both employer and employee alike. If that’s the case then so be it but it can’t be allowed to become the norm for working people in this country.