Proposal to ban zero-hour contracts in NI
Stormont’s economy minister is expected to propose a ban on zero-hour contracts in Northern Ireland.
Conor Murphy will outline the details in an assembly statement on Monday.
The Labour Party has also promised to end "exploitative" zero-hour contracts and "one-sided flexibility" if it wins this week’s election.
Labour’s measures would not automatically apply in Northern Ireland as employment law is largely devolved.
Zero-hour contracts allow employers to hire staff with no guarantee of the hours they will work.
They are mainly used in the hospitality and retail sectors.
Employment law reforms
There was a previous attempt to reform zero-hour contracts in NI when Sinn Féin MLA Jemma Dolan brought forward a private members bill in 2021.
It did not provide for an outright ban on the contracts but proposed a right to request banded hours to provide certainty regarding the number of hours that a worker could typically expect to receive.
It is not yet clear if Mr Murphy’s proposals will take a similar approach.
He is due to announce a range of other employment law reforms.
During scrutiny of Ms Dolan’s bill, MLAs heard that an estimated 11,000 workers, representing approximately 1.3% of the Northern Ireland workforce, were covered by zero-hour contracts.
Some stakeholders suggested that this figure may be higher given that many workers employment status may not be recognised as a zero-hour contract.
