The following details have been supplied by the TUC:

New official figures showing a sharp rise in the number of workers on zero hours contracts demonstrate the need for an urgent reform of employment law, the TUC has said. Commenting on figures published this week by the Office for National Statistics, which show that the number of people on zero hours contracts has increased by 13 per cent over the past year, TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady said: “Zero hours contracts allow bosses to treat workers like disposable labour. If you’re on a zero hours contract you have no guarantee of work from one day to another. Put a foot wrong and you can be let go in a heartbeat. Turn down a shift because your kid’s sick and you can be left with little or no work.”

She added: “That’s why employment law needs dragging law into the 21st century. Far too many workers do not have the power to challenge bad working conditions. Zero hours contracts can be a nightmare to plan your life around. And are a huge drain on the public finances. The growth in zero hours working over the last decade is costing the government almost £2bn a year.” This is because zero hours contract workers earn significantly less than regular employees, so pay less tax and national insurance.

The TUC has launched a new initiative to allow workers to share experiences of insecure work anonymously. The findings of the survey will be presented in May. Insecure work has been linked to higher rates of workplace injuries and ill-health.

Health and Safety Executive (HSE) study found insecure workers were much less able to take leave when sick.