4 December 2015 | Herpreet Kaur Grewal
Zero-hours contract employees experience similar levels of job satisfaction, work-life balance, and personal wellbeing as employees on permanent, full-time contracts, according to research published today.
The research from the CIPD, the professional body for HR and people development, also finds that zero-hours contract (ZHC) employees report comparable satisfaction levels in their relationships with their managers and colleagues.
However, the report also shows that, while most zero-hours employees choose to work part-time, they are more likely than part-time employees as a whole to say they would like to work additional hours.
The research also updates the CIPD estimate of the number of employees on zero-hours contracts, which has increased from 1 million in 2013 to 1.3 million in 2015.
The research, which draws on data from the ONS Labour Force Survey, the CIPD's Employee Outlook survey and Labour Market Outlook surveys also found that the proportion of zero-hours contract employees who are either very satisfied or satisfied with their jobs is 65 per cent, compared with 63 per cent for all employees.
Zero-hours contract employees are also more likely to say they have the right work-life balance (62 per cent compared to 58 per cent for all employees) and less likely to feel under excessive pressure at work every day or at least once or twice a week (32 per cent compared with 41 per cent for all employees).
Nine in 10 part-time zero-hours employees (88 per cent) say they choose to work part time but 22 per cent of these voluntary would like to work more hours, compared to 18 per cent of for all voluntary part-time employees.
Mark Beatson, chief economist at the CIPD, added: "In the operation of zero-hours contracts, as in all forms of employment, there is scope to improve practice. The key principle for the effective and ethical use of zero-hours contracts is that, wherever possible, the flexibility they offer should work for the individual as well as the employer."