Zero-hours contract

A zero-hours contract is for genuinely casual work where the employer does not guarantee hours and the worker does not have to accept what is offered. Used for that, it is a sensible instrument. Used to describe someone who in practice works a regular pattern every week, it is a liability, because status is decided by what happens rather than by the heading on the document.

Clause 3: separate engagements, or an umbrella

The first decision, and the one that carries the consequences. Option 1 treats each assignment as a separate engagement with no continuity in between, which keeps the arrangement casual. Option 2 is an umbrella contract that keeps the engagement running between assignments, which is administratively tidier and makes it considerably more likely the worker is an employee, accruing continuous service and the rights that come with it. Choose knowingly.

Clause 9: how holiday pay is handled

Two options. Casual workers accrue holiday like anyone else, and getting the calculation wrong is one of the commonest and most expensive payroll errors in this area. Whichever option is used, it should match what payroll actually does, because a contract describing one method while the business operates another helps nobody.

It is also the written statement

Section 1 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 has required a written statement of particulars for workers, not just employees, since 6 April 2020, and it has to be given on or before the first day of work. This agreement is drafted to do that job, so it goes to the worker before they start rather than when someone gets round to it.

Exclusivity clauses do not work

A clause preventing a zero-hours worker from working for someone else is unenforceable, and a dismissal for breaching one is automatically unfair. The template does not contain one, and adding it back is not an option worth taking.

The law here is actively changing

The Employment Rights Act 2025 is reforming guaranteed hours, notice of shifts and payment for cancelled shifts, on a staged timetable. Those provisions will change what a casual arrangement can look like in practice, so check what is in force before issuing the agreement rather than relying on a template dated earlier in the year. Sick pay has already changed: statutory sick pay has been payable from the first day of absence since 6 April 2026, which matters more for casual staff than for anyone else.

If the arrangement runs for a long time, or the worker's status is unclear, our employment law and HR solicitors look at the working pattern as well as the contract. Where the pattern has become regular, a contract of employment is usually the honest document.