Black women ‘twice likely’ on zero-hours contracts than white men: study

BLACK and minority ethnic (BME) women are twice as likely to be on zero-hours contracts as white men, according to an analysis released by the Trades Union Congress (TUC) on Saturday.

The analysis of 2023 Labour Force Survey data shows that 5.9 per cent of BME women are on zero hours contracts compared with 2.7 per cent of white men.

BME women are the most disproportionately affected group, followed by BME men (4.9 per cent).

The union body says the disproportionate number of BME workers on zero-hours contracts is a “prime example” of structural racism in action.

Overall, BME workers are significantly overrepresented on zero-hours contracts (5.4 per cent) when compared with white workers (3.2 per cent).

White women are also more likely on zero-hours contracts (3.7 per cent) when compared with white men.

These types of contracts are characterised by low pay, variable hours, and fewer rights and protections for workers.

The employers have total control over workers’ hours and earning power, and workers never know how much they will earn each week. This makes it difficult to plan their lives.

And it makes it harder for workers to challenge unacceptable behaviour by bosses because of concerns about whether they will stop getting work in future.

Sharp rise in insecure work

TUC pointed out that insecure work has “boomed” once the Conservatives came into power in 2010.

Insecure work includes zero-hours contracts – as well as other precarious forms of work such as low-paid self-employed workers and agency, casual and seasonal workers.

At the start of 2011, 3.2 million people were in insecure work, but by 2022 it has risen to 3.9 million.

This growth is almost double the rate of all employment between 2011 and 2022. It grew 23 per cent compared with the employment level of all those in work which grew by 12 per cent.