Worries about true strength of jobs market as official figures show number on 'zero-hours' contracts much higher than thought

The strength of the UK jobs market’s recovery has been cast into doubt with news that almost three times as many people are employed on controversial “zero hours” contracts as had been thought. A new study by the Office for National Statistics found that there are 1.4m of the contracts in use in Britain, this contrasts with the 583,000 the body had previously reported. The contracts have caused concern among politicians and labour organisations, as they do not necessarily guarantee that staff will be given work each week. Some of the agreements also have “exclusivity” clauses preventing workers taking on other employment, stopping people from earning money from other sources even though they have no income from their “contracted” job............Read more here