You've been offered a zero-hours contract. Maybe it's bar work, care work, warehouse shifts or a retail job. The contract is two pages of small print, and the one thing everyone tells you is "it means no guaranteed hours".

That part is true. But it is not the whole picture. Zero-hours workers have real, enforceable rights in the UK, some of them strengthened as recently as April 2026, and the contract in front of you decides how easy those rights are to use. Here is what the law actually gives you, what is changing, and exactly what to check before you sign.

Key Takeaways

Zero-hours contracts are legal in the UK and are not being banned. The Employment Rights Act 2025 regulates them instead, and those rules are not in force yet.

You are a worker at minimum, so the National Minimum Wage, 5.6 weeks of paid holiday and protection from discrimination all apply regardless of what the contract calls you.

Since 6 April 2026, Statutory Sick Pay is payable from day one with no minimum earnings threshold, which brings most zero-hours staff into scope for the first time.

Exclusivity clauses have been unenforceable since 2015. If your contract has one, you can ignore it.

Guaranteed hours, reasonable shift notice and cancellation pay are expected in 2027, not today. Keep a log of the shifts you work now.

What is a zero-hours contract?

A zero-hours contract is an agreement where your employer does not have to offer you any minimum number of hours, and you do not have to accept the hours they offer. Work is offered shift by shift, and pay only covers the hours you actually work.

Around a million people in the UK work this way, mostly in hospitality, retail, care, warehousing and events. The appeal is flexibility on both sides. The risk is that the flexibility usually runs one way: the employer controls the rota, and your income can swing from full-time to nothing week to week.

One thing the label does not do is remove your employment rights. Those depend on your employment status (worker or employee), not on the words "zero hours" at the top of the page.

Are zero-hours contracts legal in the UK?

Yes, zero-hours contracts are legal in the UK in 2026, and they are not being banned. What is happening instead is regulation: the Employment Rights Act 2025 will require employers to offer guaranteed hours to people who work regular patterns, but those rules are not in force yet (more on that below).

So if someone tells you zero-hours contracts are "already illegal", or that you are "already entitled to guaranteed hours", they are ahead of the law. As of July 2026, the contract itself is lawful. What matters is whether its terms respect the rights you already have.

What rights do you have on a zero-hours contract?

On a zero-hours contract you are legally a worker at minimum, which means you are entitled to the National Minimum Wage, paid holiday, protection from exclusivity clauses, and protection from discrimination. If you are an employee, you get more on top. Here is each right in practice.

The National Minimum Wage, for every hour you work

Every hour you work must be paid at least the legal minimum for your age. From 1 April 2026, the rates are £12.71 an hour if you are 21 or over, £10.85 for 18 to 20 year olds, and £8.00 if you are under 18 or an apprentice.

That includes time you are required to be at the workplace and available, such as compulsory briefings before a shift. If travel between assignments is part of the job (common in care work), that time usually counts too.

Paid holiday, even with irregular hours

Zero-hours workers get 5.6 weeks of paid holiday a year, built up in proportion to the hours worked. Since April 2024, the law sets this out cleanly for irregular-hours workers: you accrue holiday at 12.07% of the hours you work in each pay period.

Employers can also pay "rolled-up" holiday pay: an extra 12.07% (at least) on top of your normal pay each payday, shown as a separate line on your payslip. That is legal, but only if it is clearly itemised. If your contract says holiday pay is "included in your rate" and it never appears as its own payslip line, that is a problem. Acas explains the rules here.

Sick pay from day one (new from April 2026)

This is the recent change most zero-hours workers have not heard about. Since 6 April 2026, Statutory Sick Pay is payable from the first day you are off sick, and the minimum earnings threshold has been abolished.

Before this, you had to wait three days and earn at least £125 a week on average to qualify, which excluded huge numbers of zero-hours staff. Now, if you are legally an employee (which many zero-hours staff are, despite the label), you get SSP from day one at the flat weekly rate or 80% of your normal weekly earnings, whichever is lower.

Your employer cannot stop you working elsewhere

Exclusivity clauses in zero-hours contracts are unenforceable and have been since 2015. A clause that says you cannot work for anyone else, or need permission first, is void. You can ignore it, and your employer cannot lawfully punish you for working a second job.

In December 2022 the ban was extended to low-paid workers on guaranteed-hours contracts too. Employers still put these clauses in. That does not make them enforceable, but it tells you something about the contract.

A pension, if you earn enough

Zero-hours workers are covered by pension auto-enrolment on the same terms as everyone else. If you are between 22 and State Pension age and earn £10,000 or more a year with one employer, they must enrol you into a workplace pension and contribute. With variable hours, you can cross the threshold in busy periods, so check your payslips rather than assuming you do not qualify. If you earn less, you can usually opt in.

Worker or employee? The label in the contract does not decide

Your contract may call you a "casual worker", but if in practice you work regular shifts, are expected to accept them, and the company controls how you work, you may legally be an employee. Employee status brings extra rights: statutory sick pay, protection from unfair dismissal, redundancy pay, and family leave rights. The unfair dismissal qualifying period is two years today, but it drops to six months from January 2027 under the Employment Rights Act 2025.

Courts look at the reality, not the wording. But the wording still shapes what you can claim without a fight, which is exactly why it is worth reading before you sign.

What is changing for zero-hours contracts in 2026 and 2027?

The Employment Rights Act 2025 will give zero-hours workers the right to be offered a guaranteed-hours contract reflecting the hours they actually work, but as of July 2026 this is not yet in force. The government's implementation roadmap puts the zero-hours measures in 2027, and a consultation on the detail opened on 2 June 2026 and runs until 25 August 2026.

Three changes are coming:

Guaranteed hours. Employers will have to offer qualifying workers a contract reflecting the hours they regularly worked over a reference period, expected to be 12 weeks. You will be able to say no and stay on zero hours if you prefer.
Reasonable notice of shifts. Employers will have to give reasonable notice of when you are needed, and of changes.
Payment for cancelled shifts. If a shift is cancelled or cut short at short notice, you will be entitled to a compensation payment.

The direction of travel is clear, and it favours you. But none of it applies today, and the fine detail (how long the reference period is, what "short notice" means) is still being consulted on.

What should you check in a zero-hours contract before signing?

Before signing a zero-hours contract, check six things: exclusivity wording, shift notice and cancellation terms, the sick pay clause, how holiday pay is paid, your status label, and the termination clause. This is the part most people skip, because the contract is short and the job starts Monday. Ten minutes here is worth it.

Exclusivity or "permission to work elsewhere" clauses. Unenforceable, as above, but their presence is a red flag about how the employer operates. Worth knowing before you rely on this job.
Shift notice and cancellation terms. The law does not yet guarantee you cancellation pay, so the contract is all you have. Does it say anything about how much notice you get of shifts, or what happens if a shift is cancelled after you have travelled in? Silence here means you carry all the risk.
The sick pay clause. Look for anything that says you are not entitled to sick pay. Since 6 April 2026, SSP is a day-one right for employees with no earnings threshold. A contract that flatly excludes it is either outdated or trying its luck.
How holiday pay is handled. The contract should say whether holiday is accrued (12.07% of hours) or rolled up into your pay. If rolled up, it must be a separate, visible line on your payslip. "Your rate includes holiday pay" with nothing itemised is how underpayment happens.
Your status label. "Casual worker", "bank staff", "independent contractor": these labels try to define your rights downwards. They do not decide the legal reality, but a contract that insists you are self-employed when you clearly are not deserves scepticism everywhere else too.
The termination clause. Zero-hours contracts often let the employer end the arrangement instantly, while quietly requiring notice from you, or clawing back training costs if you leave. See our guide to termination clauses in UK contracts for what balanced wording looks like.

💡 Pro Tip: keep your own record of every shift you work, including shifts cancelled at short notice. When the guaranteed-hours rules arrive in 2027, your case will rest on the hours you actually worked over the reference period. A simple notes-app log started now costs nothing and could be worth a real contract later.

Many of these checks apply to any employment contract, not just zero-hours ones. Our employment contract review guide covers the full pre-signing checklist.

Red flags in a zero-hours contract

Some terms should make you pause before signing, even if you take the job anyway:

An exclusivity clause, or "you must seek written consent before other work"
"Holiday pay is included in your hourly rate" with no itemisation promise
A blanket "no sick pay" clause
You are labelled self-employed but work under full direction and control
Deductions clauses: uniform costs, till shortages, "training repayment" if you leave within a year
No mention at all of shift notice or cancellations
A requirement to accept a minimum number of shifts (that is not zero-hours flexibility, that is obligation without guarantee)

None of these necessarily means walking away. It means you should know exactly what you are agreeing to before you do.

Zero-hours contracts: your questions answered

Can I refuse a shift on a zero-hours contract?

Yes. The defining feature of a zero-hours contract is that neither side is obliged: they do not have to offer hours, and you do not have to accept them. In practice, some employers quietly punish refusals by drying up future shifts. That pattern is worth documenting, especially once the new detriment protections arrive with the 2027 reforms.

Do zero-hours workers get holiday pay?

Yes. All zero-hours workers are entitled to 5.6 weeks of paid holiday per year, accrued at 12.07% of the hours worked in each pay period, or paid as itemised rolled-up holiday pay on each payslip.

Do you get sick pay on a zero-hours contract?

Often, yes. Since 6 April 2026, Statutory Sick Pay is payable from the first day of sickness with no minimum earnings threshold. It applies if you are legally an employee, and many zero-hours staff are, whatever their contract calls them.

Can my employer stop me working for another company?

No. Exclusivity clauses in zero-hours contracts have been unenforceable since 2015, and since December 2022 the ban also covers low-paid workers with some guaranteed hours. You can take other work without asking permission.

Am I entitled to guaranteed hours yet?

Not yet. The Employment Rights Act 2025 creates a right to be offered guaranteed hours reflecting your actual working pattern, but the government's roadmap puts this into force in 2027, with the detail under consultation until 25 August 2026. As of July 2026, no such right applies.

Are zero-hours contracts being banned in the UK?

No. The 2025 Act regulates them rather than banning them. From 2027, employers will have to offer regular workers guaranteed hours, but workers can choose to stay on zero-hours terms if the flexibility suits them.

Check the contract before you sign it

The rights above are the floor the law gives every zero-hours worker. The contract decides everything else: notice, cancellations, deductions, what happens when you leave. And it was drafted by the employer's side, for the employer's benefit.

You do not need a solicitor to check two pages of terms. Upload your contract to Ookulli's employment contract review and our AI contract review, built specifically for UK law, will flag exclusivity clauses, missing sick pay terms, one-sided cancellation wording and every other risk on this page, clause by clause, before you sign. Your first contract review is free. After that, reviews are £10 per document, with a 30-day money-back guarantee, and your contract is never used to train AI models.

This guide is general information about UK employment law as of July 2026, not legal advice. For advice on your specific situation, speak to a solicitor or contact Acas.

Zero-Hours Contracts UK: What Your Rights Are and What to Check Before You Sign