Hiring & Team Building
The Zero-Hours Consultation Just Closed
24 September 2026 · Outsourcery
The government's consultation on guaranteed hours for zero and low-hours workers closed on 25 August 2026. From 2027, employers will need to offer qualifying workers a contract reflecting the hours they work, not just the zero-hours agreement sitting in a drawer. If flexible or casual staff are part of how you run your business, often the same people who step in to cover critical roles when your team's on leave, this is worth understanding well before the secondary legislation lands.
What's being proposed
Guaranteed hours would reflect a reference period, the government's stated preference is 12 weeks. A low-hours threshold is expected somewhere between 8 and 20 hours a week, calculated using either mean or median hours worked. Workers would be able to decline the offer, but would need to be re-offered a guaranteed-hours contract at the start of each subsequent reference period. Exemptions are still being discussed for short-term or event-based work, in the same spirit as the employment-status debates already playing out under IR35.
Shift notice and cancellation pay
Alongside guaranteed hours, employers would need to give reasonable notice of shifts and shift changes, proposals range from one to four weeks. If a shift is cancelled without enough notice, a short-notice payment would apply, somewhere between 10 and 80% of expected earnings, or the applicable National Minimum Wage. These proposals extend to agency workers as well as directly engaged staff.
What to do before this becomes law
Audit who on your team is zero or low-hours in practice versus who's effectively been working consistent hours for months already, those are the people most likely to trigger a guaranteed-hours offer once the rules land. Start logging actual hours worked now, so the reference-period calculation isn't a scramble later. This sits alongside the wider employer audit worth running before Q4, and decide honestly which flexible roles need to stay flexible, versus which have quietly become regular jobs in all but name.
FAQ
When did the guaranteed hours consultation close?
25 August 2026.
When will guaranteed hours rules come into force?
Implementation is expected during 2027, via secondary legislation, once the consultation responses are finalised.
What will employers have to offer?
Zero-hours and qualifying low-hours workers will need to be offered a contract reflecting the hours they typically work over a reference period, expected to be around 12 weeks.
Does this apply to agency workers?
Yes, the proposed reforms extend to agency workers as well as directly engaged zero and low-hours staff.
What should businesses do now, before the rules are finalised?
Start tracking actual hours worked by flexible staff and identify which roles have effectively become regular positions in practice, since those are most likely to trigger a guaranteed hours obligation.
Sources
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