Zero Hours Contracts: Your Rights as a Worker

Data last checked on 8 October 2026.

Checked against GOV.UK, legislation.gov.uk and Acas. Edited by Steven Butler.

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Everyone on a zero hours contract should get statutory employment rights, with no exceptions. Not everyone has the same employment status, though, and whether you are a worker or an employee affects certain other rights. On a zero hours contract you are on call to work when needed, your employer does not have to give you work and you do not have to do work when asked.

Key points

✓Zero-hours workers are entitled to statutory annual leave and the National Minimum Wage in the same way as regular workers.
✓Courts and tribunals can make final decisions on employment status, and GOV.UK says someone is probably an employee if most of a list of factors are true, such as being required to work regularly and being unable to send someone else to do the work.
✓Irregular-hours workers build up holiday at 12.07% of the hours they worked in a pay period.
✓Employers must pay for untaken statutory leave when you leave, even if you are dismissed for gross misconduct.
✓Any term of a zero hours contract that stops you working for someone else, or doing so without your employer's consent, is unenforceable against you.

Employment status, employee, worker, or self-employed?

GOV.UK says a person is generally classed as a worker if they have a contract or other arrangement to do work or services personally for a reward, they have only a limited right to send someone else to do the work, and their employer has to have work for them to do as long as the contract or arrangement lasts.

Workers have the right to:

Yes: The National Minimum Wage
Yes: Protection against unlawful deductions from wages
Yes: The statutory minimum level of paid holiday
Yes: The statutory minimum length of rest breaks
Yes: Work no more than 48 hours on average per week, or opt out of this right if they choose
Yes: Protection against unlawful discrimination
Yes: Protection for whistleblowers who report wrongdoing in the workplace
Yes: Not to be treated less favourably if they work part-time

Workers usually are not entitled to:

No: Minimum notice periods if their employment will be ending, for example if an employer is dismissing them
No: Protection against unfair dismissal
No: The right to request flexible working
No: Time off for emergencies
No: Statutory redundancy pay

All employees are workers, but an employee has extra employment rights that do not apply to workers who are not employees, including Statutory Sick Pay, statutory redundancy pay and Statutory Maternity Pay and Leave. Some of these rights require a minimum length of continuous employment before an employee qualifies for them. To qualify for Statutory Sick Pay you must be classed as an employee, have done some work for your employer and have been ill for at least one full working day. Agency workers may be entitled to Statutory Sick Pay.

You generally need two years' continuous employment to claim ordinary unfair dismissal, and the Employment Rights Act 2025 substitutes six months for two years where your effective date of termination falls on or after 1 January 2027.

For casual or irregular work, GOV.UK says someone is likely to be a worker if most of these apply: they occasionally do work for a specific business, the business does not have to offer them work and they do not have to accept it, their contract uses terms like casual, freelance, zero hours or as required, they are under the supervision or control of a manager or director, they cannot send someone else to do their work, and the business provides the materials, tools or equipment they need. Someone who works for a business is probably an employee if most of a longer list of factors are true, including that they are required to work regularly unless they are on leave, are required to do a minimum number of hours and expect to be paid for time worked, cannot send someone else to do their work, and get paid holiday. Courts and tribunals can make final decisions on employment status.

A person is self-employed if they run their business for themselves and take responsibility for its success or failure. Self-employed workers are not paid through PAYE, and they do not have the rights and responsibilities of an employee.

This page covers Great Britain. Northern Ireland has its own employment law, which this page does not cover.

Holiday pay on zero-hours contracts

Almost all people classed as workers are legally entitled to 5.6 weeks' paid holiday a year, including workers with irregular hours, where the number of hours they work in a pay period often or always changes.

Yes: Irregular-hours workers build up leave depending on the hours they have already worked, and their entitlement is 12.07% of the hours they worked in a pay period, rounded up to the nearest hour if it is 0.5 of an hour or more
Yes: A week's pay for irregular-hours work is the worker's average pay from the previous 52 weeks, only counting weeks in which they were paid, counting back a maximum of 104 weeks to find those weeks
Yes: All leave must be paid at the worker's normal rate of pay, which includes commission, regular overtime payments, and payments related to length of service or professional qualifications, but does not usually include bonus payments
Yes: Employers can use rolled-up holiday pay for irregular-hours and part-year workers, unless their leave year began on or before 31 March 2024
Yes: The only time you can be paid in place of taking statutory leave is when you leave your job, and employers must pay for untaken statutory leave even if you are dismissed for gross misconduct

From 6 April 2026, employers must keep detailed records of annual leave and holiday pay for a minimum of 6 years from the date they were made. Employers may have to pay a fine if they cannot show that they keep holiday records. See the holiday pay guide for more.

National Living Wage and minimum wage

The National Minimum Wage is the minimum pay per hour almost all workers are entitled to. The National Living Wage is higher than the National Minimum Wage, and workers get it if they are 21 and over. Workers are also entitled to the correct minimum wage if they are part-time, casual labourers (for example someone hired for one day) or agency workers.

Age	Minimum hourly rate from April 2026
21 and over (National Living Wage)	£12.71
18 to 20	£10.85
Under 18	£8
Apprentice	£8

Workers who think their pay is below the correct minimum wage rate should talk to their employer first. If this does not solve the problem, they can ask the employer in writing to see their payment records, take someone with them and make copies of the records. If an employer owes the worker any arrears they have to pay these back. Workers can also make a complaint to HM Revenue and Customs about their employer or employment agency, or complain on behalf of someone else. Workers can also go directly to the employment tribunal themselves. See the minimum wage guide for more.

The ban on exclusivity clauses

Under section 27A of the Employment Rights Act 1996, any provision of a zero hours contract which prohibits the worker from doing work or performing services under another contract or under any other arrangement, or from doing so without the employer's consent, is unenforceable against the worker.

GOV.UK says that, in practice:

Yes: An employer cannot do anything to stop a zero-hours worker from getting work elsewhere
Yes: A zero-hours worker can ignore a clause in their contract if it bans them from looking for work or accepting work from another employer
Yes: Employers cannot put exclusivity clauses in zero hours contracts or in contracts where the workers earn less than or the equivalent of the lower earnings limit

Coming in 2027: guaranteed hours and shift protections

The law regarding the new zero hours measures is not yet in force, and it will change once the Employment Rights Act 2025 is fully implemented. Acas says workers on zero-hours and low-hours contracts will get the right to the following, and that the government has not announced when in 2027 most of these changes will happen:

Yes: Guaranteed working hours, if they want them
Yes: Compensation if a shift is cancelled, shortened or moved to another time
Yes: Reasonable notice of shifts and changes to shifts

Where to go next

Frequently asked questions

What rights do zero hours workers have?

Zero-hours workers are entitled to statutory annual leave and the National Minimum Wage in the same way as regular workers. Workers are also entitled to protection against unlawful deductions from wages, the statutory minimum length of rest breaks, protection against unlawful discrimination, and protection for whistleblowers who report wrongdoing in the workplace. Workers usually are not entitled to protection against unfair dismissal, the right to request flexible working or statutory redundancy pay.

Am I entitled to holiday pay on a zero hours contract?

Yes. Almost all people classed as workers are legally entitled to 5.6 weeks' paid holiday a year, including workers with irregular hours. Your entitlement is 12.07% of the hours you worked in a pay period. Employers can use rolled-up holiday pay for irregular-hours workers, unless their leave year began on or before 31 March 2024.

Can my employer stop me working for other employers on a zero hours contract?

No. Any provision of a zero hours contract which prohibits the worker from doing work or performing services under another contract or arrangement, or from doing so without the employer's consent, is unenforceable against the worker. GOV.UK says the law lets a zero-hours worker ignore a clause in their contract if it bans them from looking for work or accepting work from another employer.

Is a zero hours worker the same as a self-employed person?

No. A person is self-employed if they run their business for themselves and take responsibility for its success or failure. Self-employed workers do not have the rights and responsibilities of an employee. A worker is generally someone who has a contract or other arrangement to do work or services personally for a reward and has only a limited right to send someone else to do the work.

What National Minimum Wage rate applies to zero hours workers?

Zero-hours workers are entitled to the National Minimum Wage in the same way as regular workers. From April 2026 the rates are £12.71 for those aged 21 and over, £10.85 for 18 to 20, £8 for under 18 and £8 for apprentices. Workers can make a complaint to HM Revenue and Customs about their employer or employment agency.

How do you go about terminating a zero hours contract?

Workers usually are not entitled to minimum notice periods if their employment will be ending, for example if an employer is dismissing them. GOV.UK says contracts should be clear about how the worker can end the contract, so check your written statement of terms and your contract.

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Know Your Rights UK. "Zero Hours Contracts: Your Rights as a Worker." Know Your Rights UK, https://www.knowyourrightsuk.com/employment/zero-hours