1 in 9 workers now in insecure jobs, new analysis shows

11 May 2018

New analysis from the TUC has found that one in nine workers in the UK is now employed in an insecure job, such as on a zero-hour contract, through an agency, or in low-paid self-employment.

The total number of people currently in this position has risen to 3.8 million, accounting for 11.9% of the workforce.

“Bosses are falsely labelling staff as self-employed, outsourcing work to agencies or using zero-hours contracts to drive down costs and dodge their employment and tax responsibilities,” the TUC reported.

“Agency and zero-hours staff can he hired and fired at will and have no right to return to their job after having a baby. And ‘gig economy’ workers forced into bogus ‘self-employment’ by their boss are not guaranteed the national minimum wage, paid holidays or sick pay,” it warned.