On benefits? Accept zero hours contracts or lose allowance

Jobseekers who turn down certain zero-hours contract without good reason risk losing certain benefits, the government has said.

16:28 06 May 2014

As income-based jobseeker’s allowance has been incorporated into the new universal credit system, the government has warned that jobseekers who refuse to accept certain zero hours contracts without good reason will risk losing their benefits. 

 

Zero contract hours allow employees to hire staff with no guarantee of work and has been very popular with companies as they offer high degrees of flexibility and staff rotation. Although this type of contract has faced criticism with critics saying that they offer little financial stability to workers, the government said that such contracts could be a good source of experience as they offer an average of 25 hours work per week. 

 

Labour, on the other hand, seems to agree with critics. Shadow work and pensions secretary Rachel Reeves said: "The growth of zero-hours contracts and the exploitative use of them has got to be cracked down on."

 

Meanwhile, a spokesman from the Department for Work and Pensions said claimants needed to do everything they could to get work. He said: "As now, if there's a good reason someone can't just take a particular job they won't be sanctioned.

 

"But it is right that people do everything they can to find work and that we support them to build up their working hours and earnings."