Employment Law

Zero Hours Contract Rights Checker UK 2026 — Holiday Pay, NMW & Your Rights

Zero hours contracts give employers flexibility but workers on them still have important legal rights. Use this checker to understand your rights to holiday pay, the National Minimum Wage, and new protections under the Employment Rights Act 2025.

⚖️ Zero Hours Contract Rights Checker — 2026

Your average hours worked per week

Your hourly rate (£)

Your age

How long have you worked for this employer?

Does your contract include an exclusivity clause (prevents you working elsewhere)?

Are you paid rolled-up holiday pay (12.07% added to each payment)?

Zero hours workers have the same right to the National Minimum Wage, holiday pay, and protection from discrimination as other workers. The Employment Rights Act 2025 introduces new rights to request a guaranteed hours contract after 12 weeks. Exclusivity clauses are unenforceable on zero hours contracts.

Your Key Rights on a Zero Hours Contract

National Minimum Wage

You are entitled to the National Minimum Wage for every hour worked, regardless of how few hours you work. For 2026/27 this is £12.71/hour for those aged 21 and over. Your employer cannot average your pay over longer periods to get below NMW for individual hours.

Holiday Pay

You are entitled to 5.6 weeks of paid holiday per year (pro-rated for part-year workers). Since April 2024, zero hours and irregular-hours workers can be paid holiday pay in two ways: (1) as rolled-up holiday pay of 12.07% added to each pay packet, or (2) as a lump sum when taking holiday, calculated on a 52-week average of pay.

Exclusivity Clauses — Banned

Any clause in a zero hours contract that prevents you from working for another employer is unenforceable under the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015. You cannot be dismissed or subjected to a detriment for working elsewhere.

Right to Request Guaranteed Hours (Employment Rights Act 2025)

Under the Employment Rights Act 2025, workers on zero hours contracts who have worked regular hours for 12 or more consecutive weeks will gain the right to request a contract that reflects their regular hours. Employers must respond and can only refuse on specified grounds.

Statutory Sick Pay

From 6 April 2026, the lower earnings limit for Statutory Sick Pay was abolished — you now qualify for SSP regardless of how much you earn, provided you meet the other eligibility conditions. This is a significant change for zero hours workers, many of whom previously fell below the earnings threshold in weeks with fewer shifts and lost SSP eligibility as a result; that earnings barrier no longer applies. The waiting-day rule was also removed as part of the same reform, so SSP is now payable from the first day of illness rather than after three waiting days.

Redundancy Pay on a Zero Hours Contract

Zero hours workers can be entitled to statutory redundancy pay, provided they meet the usual qualifying conditions — at least two years' continuous service and genuine employee status rather than casual worker status (this distinction matters and isn't always straightforward on a zero hours arrangement). Continuous service for a zero hours worker is calculated based on weeks where you had a contract in place and either worked or were entitled to be paid, and gaps of a week or more where no work was offered and none was owed can potentially break continuity, so keeping records of your working pattern over time is worth doing if redundancy becomes a possibility.

Notice Periods and Ending a Zero Hours Arrangement

Notice requirements on zero hours contracts vary considerably depending on what your specific contract says and your employment status. Many zero hours arrangements are structured so either side can end individual shifts or the wider arrangement with little or no formal notice, but once you've built up the necessary length of service, statutory minimum notice periods still generally apply if your employer wants to end the relationship entirely (as opposed to simply not offering further shifts) — one week's notice per complete year of continuous service, up to a maximum of 12 weeks. Whether you're owed notice, and how "ending the relationship" is even defined for someone with no guaranteed hours, is one of the more legally complex areas of zero hours work, so it's worth seeking advice from ACAS or a solicitor if you're unsure of your specific position.

Frequently Asked Questions

Am I an employee or a worker on a zero hours contract?+

Most zero hours contract holders are classified as workers rather than employees. Workers get fewer rights than employees — no unfair dismissal protection until 2 years' service, no statutory redundancy pay. However, worker status does give you NMW rights, holiday pay, protection from discrimination, and whistleblowing protection. Some zero hours workers may legally be employees depending on how the relationship operates in practice.

Can I be dismissed for refusing a shift?+

On a zero hours contract, you can usually turn down offered hours without losing your job, and your employer can choose not to offer you further hours. However, if you are treated detrimentally for exercising a legal right (e.g. taking holiday or reporting unsafe conditions), that may be unlawful. The Employment Rights Act 2025 includes new protections against retaliation for exercising zero hours rights.

Does working zero hours affect my benefits?+

Variable earnings can affect Universal Credit. UC uses a monthly assessment period — if you earn more in one month, your UC reduces; if you earn less, it increases. This can create budgeting challenges. You should report changes in earnings to DWP promptly.

Can I have more than one zero hours job at the same time?+

Yes — exclusivity clauses banning you from working for another employer are unenforceable on zero hours contracts, so you're free to hold multiple zero hours jobs simultaneously, or combine a zero hours job with a fixed-hours job elsewhere. It's worth checking your tax code and Personal Allowance are correctly split across employers if you do this, since having multiple jobs can sometimes result in emergency tax codes or under/overpayment of tax if HMRC's records aren't up to date.