Outlaw zero-hour contracts
With a growing number of Europeans working in insecure jobs like on-demand, platform or voucher-based work, it has become even more urgent to update and broaden the scope of existing laws to close the loopholes some employers use to deny workers even minimum protections. All workers, no matter what type of contract they have, must be guaranteed two basic rights: a clear and decent labour contract, and full access to social protection.
Zero-hour contracts are an especially cynical form of exploitation, where workers have no idea how many shifts they will have each week or how much they will earn. Companies are increasingly trying to employ people on these contracts to cut costs and avoid their social responsibilities. With the Directive on transparent and predictable working conditions, we managed to help vulnerable workers who are trapped in abusive temporary contracts. Workers on these on-demand style contracts will now have to be compensated whenever an employer cancels work at the last minute. Companies will be allowed to ask people to work within flexible jobs only within a predetermined set of hours and will have to give workers enough notice when giving them new shifts. People deserve certainty about their income and the hours they have to work. That is a fair basis to earn a living.