A frequent criticism of zero-hour contracts is the unpredictability of the working hours associated with them. But is this an issue also experienced by wider sections of the UK workforce?

CIPD member content

This content is only available for CIPD members

Reviewed by:

Jonny Gifford, Senior Adviser for Organisational Behaviour | Interim Head of Research

Jonny’s work centres on conducting applied research in employment and people management, and strengthening links between academia and practice. His research interests include job quality or ‘good work’ and what works in driving employee performance and wellbeing. He leads the CIPD’s work on evidence-based HR and academic knowledge exchange.

Jonny has been conducting applied research in the field of employment and people management for about 20 years, with previous roles at Westminster Business School, the Institute for Employment Studies and Roffey Park Institute. He is an Academic Member of the CIPD, a Fellow of the Center for Evidence-Based Management (CEBMa), Associate Editor at the Journal of Organizational Effectiveness: People and Performance (JOEPP), and a PhD candidate at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.

More on this topic

Employment law
Terms and conditions of employment: UK employment law

Explore our collection of resources covering terms and conditions of employment, including Q&As and relevant case law

For Members
Factsheets
Contracts of employment

Introductory guidance to the ‘contract of service’, the written statement of particulars, and varying the contractual terms

Factsheets
Zero-hours contracts

Understand the advantages and disadvantages of zero-hours contracts, recent UK legislative changes, and good practices to follow

Latest Bitesize research

Bitesize research
Using algorithms to make decisions ethically and responsibly

Algorithms can help speed decisions and help organisations to operate more efficiently or profitably, but what are the pitfalls particularly from an ethical perspective?

For Members
Bitesize research
Role ambiguity can lead to bullying but supportive leadership helps

How might role ambiguity lead to workplace bullying and what is the impact of leadership support in negating this effect?

For Members
Bitesize research
How to start using AI as an HRM assistant

An exploration of how generative AI tools like ChatGPT can be used effectively to support human resource management

For Members
Bitesize research
Pay cuts as an alternative to redundancies

When cost savings are required, what is the impact of making pay cuts instead of redundancies?

For Members
All Bitesize research