Free The Night and Save The Scene Scotland call for stronger protections for zero-hours nightlife workers
“A sustainable nightlife and cultural sector has to work for the people who make it happen, too”
Free The Night and Save The Scene Scotland have called on the UK Government to provide more protections for zero-hours nightlife workers.
The organisations have submitted a joint response to the Government’s Make Work Pay: Ending one-sided flexibility consultation, which is seeking views on proposed reforms to zero-hours and similar contracts. The consultation closes this week and covers insecure employment across sectors including hospitality, music venues and cultural spaces.
While Free The Night and Save The Scene Scotland acknowledge that flexibility is an important part of nightlife and hospitality, and stress that they are “not arguing for the elimination of genuinely casual work”, their response argues that regular workers should not be left on insecure terms or carrying the financial risk when shifts are cancelled, reduced or moved at short notice.
“Nightlife and hospitality do need flexibility. What they don’t need is a system where flexibility means the business can change its mind at any point and the worker simply absorbs the cost,” said Free The Night’s Boyd Sleator.
“We’re not arguing that every casual job should become a fixed contract. We’re saying that when work becomes regular, people should have the opportunity to get the security that reflects the job they’re actually doing. And when an employer cancels work at short notice, the financial consequences shouldn’t automatically fall on the worker.”
A number of specific recommendations have been made by the organisations, including a 12-week initial reference period, after which recurring shift patterns could trigger a fixed banded-hours contract, rather than the current potential wait of up to 12 months. They are also calling for a minimum 20-hour threshold to prevent zero-hours contracts being replaced by low-hours alternatives, alongside guaranteed offers of hours reflecting the amount actually worked.
Other recommendations include standardised two weeks’ advance notice for shifts and seven days’ notice for cancellations, with compensation based on a worker’s actual earnings rather than minimum wage. The organisations are also calling for full compensation where an employer cancels, relocates or reduces work due to begin within the short-notice period, among other measures.
“There are businesses across our sector already trying to do the right thing by their staff, and we want a system that supports that rather than rewarding a race to the bottom,” said Colm Flecher, of Save The Scene Scotland. “A sustainable nightlife and cultural sector has to work for the people who make it happen, too. Good jobs and good working conditions should be part of how we build a stronger sector.”
According to the Living Wage Foundation , 68% of contractors were found to be working between one and eight hours more than their actual contracted terms stated. Almost 50% had worked up to 15 hours extra, and 19% reported between 16 and 24 hours of additional work.
