This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-27219654

The article has changed 6 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 1 Version 2
UK firms use 1.4 million zero-hour contracts, ONS says UK firms use 1.4 million zero-hour contracts, ONS says
(35 minutes later)
Nearly half of big companies in the UK use a total of 1.4 million zero-hours contracts, a study from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) says.Nearly half of big companies in the UK use a total of 1.4 million zero-hours contracts, a study from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) says.
Zero-hours contracts do not guarantee a minimum number of hours of employment.Zero-hours contracts do not guarantee a minimum number of hours of employment.
The ONS recently estimated 583,000 individuals were employed on such contracts between October and December last year. The ONS recently estimated that 583,000 people, around 2% of the UK workforce, were employed on zero-hours contracts between October and December 2013.
That was equivalent to 2% of the UK workforce. It said the data suggested that most workers on such contracts had at least two jobs.
The ONS study also found over one in five health and social workers are employed on zero-hours contacts. The study found that more than one in five health and social workers are employed on zero-hours contacts.
But zero-hours contracts are rare in financial services, the ONS found.But zero-hours contracts are rare in financial services, the ONS found.
People with zero-hours contracts were disproportionately students, female and under 25 or over 65, the study also found.
"These patterns may partly reflect the groups most likely to find the flexibility of 'zero-hours contracts' an advantage," the ONS said.
More research
ONS said it found evidence of a further 1.3 million contracts where no work was undertaken.
It said the total might include:
It added some of contracts "probably" needed to be added to the official 1.4 million estimate, but that it wanted to investigate in more detail.
The ONS said it would carry out further research and report later in 2014.
Labour leader Ed Miliband said on Friday that if he won the national election in May next year, he wanted to limit the use of zero-hours contracts in a bid to improve living standards.
The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, Britain's main human resources body, estimated last year that employers used about one million zero-hours contracts.