- Latest available (Revised)
- Point in Time (06/04/2022)
- Original (As enacted)
Point in time view as at 06/04/2022.
Employment Rights Act 1996, Section 27B is up to date with all changes known to be in force on or before 05 September 2024. There are changes that may be brought into force at a future date. Changes that have been made appear in the content and are referenced with annotations.
Changes and effects yet to be applied by the editorial team are only applicable when viewing the latest version or prospective version of legislation. They are therefore not accessible when viewing legislation as at a specific point in time. To view the ‘Changes to Legislation’ information for this provision return to the latest version view using the options provided in the ‘What Version’ box above.
(1)The Secretary of State may by regulations make provision for the purpose of securing that zero hours workers, or any description of zero hours workers, are not restricted by any provision or purported provision of their contracts or arrangements with their employers from doing any work otherwise than under those contracts or arrangements.
(2)In this section, “zero hours workers” means—
(a)employees or other workers who work under zero hours contracts;
(b)individuals who work under non-contractual zero hours arrangements;
(c)individuals who work under worker's contracts of a kind specified by the regulations.
(3)The worker's contracts which may be specified by virtue of subsection (2)(c) are those in relation to which the Secretary of State considers it appropriate for provision made by the regulations to apply, having regard, in particular, to provision made by the worker's contracts as to income, rate of pay or working hours.
(4)In this section “non-contractual zero hours arrangement” means an arrangement other than a worker's contract under which—
(a)an employer and an individual agree terms on which the individual will do any work where the employer makes it available to the individual and the individual agrees to do it, but
(b)the employer is not required to make any work available to the individual, nor the individual required to accept it,
and in this section “employer”, in relation to a non-contractual zero hours arrangement, is to be read accordingly.
(5)Provision that may be made by regulations under subsection (1) includes provision for—
(a)modifying—
(i)zero hours contracts;
(ii)non-contractual zero hours arrangements;
(iii)other worker's contracts;
(b)imposing financial penalties on employers;
(c)requiring employers to pay compensation to zero hours workers;
(d)conferring jurisdiction on employment tribunals;
(e)conferring rights on zero hours workers.
(6)Provision that may be made by virtue of subsection (5)(a) may, in particular, include provision for exclusivity terms in prescribed categories of worker's contracts to be unenforceable, in cases in which section 27A does not apply.
For this purpose an exclusivity term is any term by virtue of which a worker is restricted from doing any work otherwise than under the worker's contract.
(7)Regulations under this section may—
(a)make different provision for different purposes;
(b)make provision subject to exceptions.
(8)For the purposes of this section—
(a)“zero hours contract” has the same meaning as in section 27A;
(b)an employer makes work available to an individual if the employer requests or requires the individual to do it;
(c)references to work and doing work include references to services and performing them.
(9)Nothing in this section is to be taken to affect any worker's contract except so far as any regulations made under this section expressly apply in relation to it.]
Textual Amendments
F1Pt. 2A (ss. 27A, 27B) inserted (26.5.2015) by Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015 (c. 26), ss. 153(2), 164(1) (with s. 153(2)); S.I. 2015/1329, reg. 2(g)
The Whole Act you have selected contains over 200 provisions and might take some time to download. You may also experience some issues with your browser, such as an alert box that a script is taking a long time to run.
Would you like to continue?
The Whole Act you have selected contains over 200 provisions and might take some time to download.
Would you like to continue?
The Whole Act without Schedules you have selected contains over 200 provisions and might take some time to download. You may also experience some issues with your browser, such as an alert box that a script is taking a long time to run.
Would you like to continue?
The Whole Act without Schedules you have selected contains over 200 provisions and might take some time to download.
Would you like to continue?
The Whole Act you have selected contains over 200 provisions and might take some time to download. You may also experience some issues with your browser, such as an alert box that a script is taking a long time to run.
Would you like to continue?
The Whole Act without Schedules you have selected contains over 200 provisions and might take some time to download. You may also experience some issues with your browser, such as an alert box that a script is taking a long time to run.
Would you like to continue?
Latest Available (revised):The latest available updated version of the legislation incorporating changes made by subsequent legislation and applied by our editorial team. Changes we have not yet applied to the text, can be found in the ‘Changes to Legislation’ area.
Original (As Enacted or Made): The original version of the legislation as it stood when it was enacted or made. No changes have been applied to the text.
Point in Time: This becomes available after navigating to view revised legislation as it stood at a certain point in time via Advanced Features > Show Timeline of Changes or via a point in time advanced search.
Geographical Extent: Indicates the geographical area that this provision applies to. For further information see ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.
Show Timeline of Changes: See how this legislation has or could change over time. Turning this feature on will show extra navigation options to go to these specific points in time. Return to the latest available version by using the controls above in the What Version box.
Access essential accompanying documents and information for this legislation item from this tab. Dependent on the legislation item being viewed this may include:
This timeline shows the different points in time where a change occurred. The dates will coincide with the earliest date on which the change (e.g an insertion, a repeal or a substitution) that was applied came into force. The first date in the timeline will usually be the earliest date when the provision came into force. In some cases the first date is 01/02/1991 (or for Northern Ireland legislation 01/01/2006). This date is our basedate. No versions before this date are available. For further information see the Editorial Practice Guide and Glossary under Help.
Use this menu to access essential accompanying documents and information for this legislation item. Dependent on the legislation item being viewed this may include:
Click 'View More' or select 'More Resources' tab for additional information including: