The long-promised consultation on guaranteed hours has arrived, shedding light on some of the unanswered questions in the Employment Rights Act 2025. But while it gives some indication of the government’s current preferences, it also confirms just how administratively complex and legally awkward this new regime may be.
Promised in early 2026, the hotly anticipated consultation on reforming zero hours has finally landed. This covers the provisions relating to the obligation to offer guaranteed hours and the duty to provide reasonable notice of shifts and shift changes. This article focuses on guaranteed hours and we unpick the proposals relating to shift changes here.
The duty to offer guaranteed hours is one of the most complicated parts of the Employment Rights Act 2025. In short, the Act requires employers to make an offer of guaranteed hours to qualifying workers based on hours regularly worked over a defined reference period. It will apply to both zero hours workers and those
