British Retail Consortium warns guaranteed-hours reforms threaten UK retail jobs
Change
British Retail Consortium warned that guaranteed-hours protections in the Employment Rights Act will put more than half of UK retail roles at risk, especially part-time and young shopworkers.
Why it matters
The incoming measures will require employers to guarantee hours for workers on zero- and low-hours contracts, strengthen flexible-working rights, require pay for short-notice cancelled shifts and limit fire-and-rehire, increasing employers' legal obligations around scheduling and cancellations. Employers also face uncertainty because the government has not yet set the maximum hours that count as 'low-hours' or the reference-period length used to determine guaranteed patterns, decisions that will shape how many contracts must change.
Implications
- • HR teams at major UK retail chains must review and amend low-hours contracts to reflect forthcoming guaranteed-hours rules and prepare payroll systems to compensate short-notice cancelled shifts.
- • Store managers at major UK retail chains must redesign rostering and seasonal hiring plans to document and, where required, preserve regular working patterns over the government's final reference period.
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