Zero-hours contracts undermine basic employment rights and hit young workers, says the Resolution Foundation. Photograph: Photonica/GettyWorkers on zero-hours contracts must be protected from employers who exploit the flexible arrangements to pay low wages, according to a study that found employees on such deals are paid £6 an hour less than those with set hours.
The Resolution Foundation warned the government that the growing use of zero-hours contracts across the private and public sectors was undermining basic employment rights and hitting younger workers especially hard.
The thinktank said information was difficult to obtain about the extent of their use, but it was likely official estimates of 200,000 workers on such contracts in 2011 was low. It said workers on these deals earn an average gross wage of £9 an hour, compared with £15 an hour for people on conventional contracts.
The study follows a pledge by the business secretary, Vince Cable, to investigate the widespread adoption of the controversial contracts, which allow employers to adjust the hours staff work from week to week without providing a minimum income.
Cable has refused to ban the practice, but has hinted that he is prepared to fight for stronger protections if employers are found abusing the system.
The Resolution Foundation said the contracts offered employers flexible working arrangements that suited some staff.
"Yet it is clear that the benefits these contracts provide for employers come at too high a price for the majority of those employed on them."
It said that for those workers who need a minimum number of working hours per week to ensure their family is financially secure or who fear that turning down hours will result in future work being withdrawn, "life on a zero-hours contract can be extremely difficult".
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