From Zero Hours to Guaranteed Hours: Preparing Your Workforce for Change

What’s changing. What it could mean. What businesses should be doing now. If your organisation relies on people working flexible hours, variable shifts, temporary assignments , or low-hours or zero hours contracts, the changes coming in under the Employment Rights Act 2025 are something you really can't afford to ignore. For many employers, zero hours and low hours contracts have become an essential part of how they manage fluctuating demand, seasonal peaks, sickness, holidays and unexpected changes in workload. That is particularly relevant in sectors such as hospitality, tourism, retail, manufacturing, health and social care and the wider public sector which depend heavily on flexible staffing models. Did you know that employers will have new obligations next year? The Employment Rights Act 2025 introduces new rights for workers on zero or low hour contracts to be offered guaranteed hours. It also includes provisions requiring reasonable notice of shift changes, and payments to workers when shifts are cancelled, curtailed or moved at short notice. And this isn’t simply an issue for businesses directly employing people on zero hours contracts. Agency workers are within scope too. These reforms could have significant implications for employers using temporary labour, recruitment agencies supplying those workers and major organisations such as the NHS and other public sector employers, where flexible and temporary staffing forms an important part of workforce planning. Let's consider some scenarios:- · You roster 20 people for a busy Saturday and demand suddenly drops. Can you still cancel those shifts and what must you pay if you do? · You regularly employ someone for 15 hours a week on a zero hours contract. Could you have to offer them guaranteed hours? · You book temporary workers through an agency and then your requirements change. Who bears the cost? Although the government has not yet finalised every detail of the new regime, there is already plenty employers can be doing to prepare. Understanding how these changes are likely to operate in practice and what they could mean for your staffing models will put you in a far stronger position when the legislation comes into force. At this exclusive event, you'll be joining Marie Horner, Specialist Employment Solicitor from ALT Legal, Kelly Dunn, Founder and Director of KD Recruitment and the Recruitment & Employment Confederation (REC), as we bring together three different perspectives on one of the biggest forthcoming changes to flexible workforce management. During this breakfast session we'll look at what the proposed changes are, what they could mean for your organisation, and what you should be doing now to prepare. Date: Tuesday 24th November 2026 Timings: Arrive at 7.45 for refreshments and pastries. Session starting at 8.15am and finishing at 9.45am Location: Hosted by McClarrons Insurance, Unit 1, Northside Business Park, York Road, Malton YO17 6TB