The concept of a zero hours contract (also sometimes zero hour contract) is effectively a situation which allows employers to hire staff but give them no guarantee of work. Such contracts mean that employees only work as and when required, so that they are effectively 'on call' to work at short notice, and only receive pay for the hours they work. Some zero hours contracts make it compulsory¹ for workers to accept the working hours they're offered, and others allow the employee to decide, but most contracts of this type don't offer sick or holiday pay, and deny rights such as redundancy payments and pensions.

 

Zero hours contract（有时也写作zero hour contract）指雇主雇佣员工却不保证给其安排工作的合同情形，我们称之为“零时工合同”。签订这种合同就意味着，员工只在有工作要求时干活，需随叫随到，做多少工作拿多少报酬。有些“零时工合同”要求员工必须接受雇主提出的工作时间要求，有些会让员工考虑后做决定；不过，大部分“零时工合同”都不包括带薪病假或休假，也没有裁员津贴或养老金。

 

Predictably, the use of such contracts is controversial, not least because they give no guarantee of work, yet often deny the opportunity to seek employment elsewhere – some zero hours contracts oblige workers to seek permission before they can take on other jobs. The contracts have been criticized for not offering a basic level of financial security, many workers not being given enough hours and not having the same employment rights as those on traditional contracts. With no guaranteed income, employees on zero hours contracts sometimes find it difficult to get mortgages and other forms of credit.

 

可以预见的是，使用这一类合同颇具争议性，主要的原因是这类合同无法保证随时有工作，而且还阻止员工寻求其他的就业机会——有些“零时工合同”要求员工在接洽其他工作任务前需获得现任雇主的许可。因无法提供基本的财务保障、很多员工没有获得足够的工时，以及不能享受与传统雇员同等职业权利等问题，“零时工合同”一直饱受诟病。靠“零时工合同”工作的员工也因为没有收入保障而很难获得按揭贷款及其它形式的信用服务。

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