'No justification' for zero-hours contracts, claims Perceptions Group chair Knowles
Keith Knowles, chairman of the Perceptions Group and CEO of Beds & Bars, said there was “no justification” for the use of the contracts in which workers are put on standby without a guaranteed minimum amount of work or pay.
His comments come after Lord Oakeshott, the Lib Dems’ former Treasury spokesman, last week called for an end to ‘standby’ job contracts as it emerged that Parliament uses them too.
Knowles told how he was horrified to discover that his daughter had been taken off a shift at a big venue and was sent home unpaid because trade was quiet. “I couldn’t believe anybody would do that, but horror of horrors, [I found out] my own company Beds & Bars did it and I didn’t know. I banned the practice a year and a half ago.”
Knowles cautioned that use of these contracts in the pub industry was sending the wrong message and, in some cases, workers’ pay might be so marginal it might not be worth them going to work.
“If you’re sending somebody home, how are we going to persuade that person that having a career with us is a worthwhile thing?” he asked. “If somebody commits to work for you, you should honour that commitment. The industry should be proud of what it does. There’s no justification for it [zero hours contracts].”
Suzy Jackson, Hospitality Guild executive director, said the pub sector has a tough job in balancing the need for flexible staff with attracting people who genuinely want to build their career in the pub sector.
“Traditionally, transient staff have been employed so that businesses can respond to fluctuations in customer demand. This means that employers are likely to have significant labour turnover and skills gaps, rather than a flexible, skilled, part-time workforce,” she said.
TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady said: “Zero-hours contracts are on the rise and represent a new employment low… Employers should stop trying to get workers on the cheap and start employing them on decent wages, with regular hours.”
