Flexible employment practices such as zero-hours contracts can be abused by employers and create stress and insecurity for employees, according to recent research from the University of Cambridge.
The study looked at employment practices in US and UK supermarket chains, and found that the use of flexible working practices, including but not limited to zero-hours contracts, could create financial and social insecurity in the workforce, which in turn could lead to anxiety and “depressed mental states” amongst staff.
The findings of the study have been submitted to the Government in response to its consultation over the use of zero-hours contracts.
Researchers who conducted the study have described the remit of the Government's consultation as too narrow, and have called for employees to be given the right to have an input into the scheduling of their working hours. In addition, say the researchers, employers should be legally required to defend the decisions they make regarding the scheduling of staff.
“Zero-hours contracts are the tip of the iceberg; just one small manifestation of this much wider problem in our workplaces,” said Dr Brendan Burchell, Head of Department and co-author on the report.
“Workplace flexibility is thought of as helping employees, but it has become completely subverted across much of the service sector to suit the employer – and huge numbers of workers are suffering as a consequence,” he added.
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