An evidence review led by the University of Warwick has concluded that the increase of zero hours contracts over the last 20 years has created significant risk for workers as unreliable work can result in a sudden loss of hours and earnings, and an inability to access legal advice for unfair or potentially unlawful employment practices.

Along with colleagues from the ReWAGE expert advisory group, academics at the Institute of Employment Research at the University of Warwick examined the legal and workplace practices associated with zero hours contracts (ZHCs), along with data covering flexibility, pay insecurity, worker ability to assert their rights and worker health and wellbeing.

The ReWAGE Zero Hours Contracts Policy Brief including full recommendations can be read online.

ReWAGE is fortunate in having some of the UK’s foremost thinkers on its Expert Group, drawn from leading universities and research organisations from across the UK. Between them they have a huge breadth of knowledge, covering such subjects as the labour market, job quality, employment relations and the changing nature of work.

This week we are turning the spotlight onto ReWAGE expert Peter Elias, Emeritus Professor in the Institute for Employment Research at the University of Warwick.

Background:

Peter studied in the sciences before undertaking his doctoral studies in applied labour economics at the University of California at Berkeley. Peter has worked at the Institute for Employment Research for over 40 years across a wide variety of research areas.

From October 2004 until 2016 Peter acted as the Strategic Advisor for Data Resources to the UK Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), assisting the ESRC and other research funding councils and agencies with plans to develop data resources for research across the social sciences and at the boundaries between the social sciences and other disciplines.

Peter was awarded a CBE for services to social science in the Queen's birthday honours list in June 2011, and conferred as Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences in 2019.

ReWAGE is fortunate in having some of the UK’s foremost thinkers on its Expert Group, drawn from leading universities and research organisations from across the UK.

This week we are turning the spotlight onto ReWAGE expert Alan Felstead who is Research Professor at Cardiff University.

Background:

Alan has been studying employment-related issues for over 35 years. Since completing his PhD he has held positions at Nuffield College, University of Oxford and the University of Leicester. Since 2006 he has been Research Professor in the School of Social Sciences, Cardiff University and has additionally been a co-Director of the Wales Institute of Social and Economic Research and Data since 2022.

He has given written and oral evidence to inquiries on labour market issues carried out, for example, by the Department of Work and Pensions Select Committee, the House of Lords, the Cabinet Office, the Scottish Parliament and Senedd Cymru/Welsh Parliament. In 2018-2019 Alan sat on the Welsh Government's Fair Work Commission as the Independent Expert Advisor and during 2019-2020 he was on part-time secondment to Welsh Government.