Boss says zero-hour contracts are key to success

CONTROVERSIAL contracts offering no guarantees of work are being defended by an Inverness company as the only feasible way to care for the elderly.
Two hundred staff at employee-owned Highland Home Carers are hired under zero-hours contracts which do not guarantee work from one week to the next.

Manager Stephen Pennington said they may be open to abuse by other employers, but his care company was “flooded with work” and his staff were seldom denied the hours they wanted to work.

He said: “If all our staff were on normal contracts we would not be able to provide the volume of home care that we do.

“It’s not ideal and I don’t pretend that it is — but it works in our company.”

The UK government is considering a crackdown on zero-hours contracts after it emerged some workers were being paid a fraction of what was expected and were being denied holiday and sickness pay.

Business secretary Vince Cable fears workers could be exploited and shadow business secretary Chuka Ummuna MP said such contracts were putting an unnecessary strain on public life and too many families were now caught in the zero-hours trap.

A national survey found a fifth of employers impose the contracts, including Buckingham Palace, the National Trust and the late Princess Diana’s Turning Point charity. More than a million people are working under them.

Highland Council also explained social care workers, mental health officers, assistant registrars, general assistants, drivers and general operatives on under the terms.

Two-thirds of Highland Home Carer’s 300-strong workforce are on such contracts but they include holiday and sickness pay entitlements.

The company is contracted by NHS Highland to provide home care for older people, complementing the health board’s in-house team.

Mr Pennington said concerns raised nationally about workers being tied in with a single employer who cannot provide stable employment did not apply to his firm.

He insisted the opposite was often the case, with workers being asked to do more hours than they wanted. He said the company, which is racking up industry awards for its commitment to staff training, could not operate without the contracts.