Labour's Proposals on Zero Hour Contracts Go Too Far

Labour's proposals go too far. They are unnecessary and potentially damaging.

Frankly, this is an example of politics trumping good policy.

A  cross-party consensus has already emerged that would ban the use of exclusivity clauses, but limiting the use of a zero hours contract to just 12 weeks would apply rigid controls on an important element of our flexible labour market.

When it comes to Zero Hours Contracts, the rhetoric simply does not match the reality. They are used by a little over 2% of workers, which can hardly be described as an epidemic.

Nobody supports the misuse of these contracts, but demonising and ultimately outlawing them will simply risk jobs and undermine a labour market that has made us the envy of Europe.