Zero-hours contracts

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Dear Department for Work and Pensions,

Do Jobseekers Allowance claimants have a duty to accept zero hour job contracts?

"A zero-hour contract (or zero-hours contract) is a recent type of contract under which an employer does not guarantee the employee a fixed number of hours per week. Rather, the employee is expected to be on-call and receive compensation only for hours worked."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zero-hour_...

Yours faithfully,
Ian Wolf

DWP Adelphi Freedom-of-Information-Request, Department for Work and Pensions

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DWP Adelphi Freedom-of-Information-Request, Department for Work and Pensions

Our Ref: FOI 2097

Dear Ian Wolf,

Thank you for your Freedom of Information request dated 20th May 2012.
You asked for:-
Do Jobseekers Allowance claimants have a duty to accept zero hour job
contracts? "A zero-hour contract (or zero-hours contract) is a recent
type of contract under which an employer does not guarantee the employee
a fixed number of hours per week. Rather, the employee is expected to
be on-call and receive compensation only for hours worked."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zero-hour_...

Section 21 of the Freedom of Information Act allows us to direct you to
information which is already reasonably accessible to you. The
Jobseekers Allowance Regulations 1996 are available via the following
internet address: http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/a11-4001.pdf from which
Regulation 72(5A) provides automatic good cause for offers of employment
where the employment in question is for less than 24 hours a week or
less than 16 hours a week where the claimant has restricted their
availability to less than 24 hours a week. A zero hour contract would
therefore give automatic good cause.

This is confirmed in paragraph 34424 of the Decision Makers Guide which
can be found at http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/dmgch34.pdf.

If you have any queries about this letter please contact me quoting the
reference number above.

Yours sincerely,

DWP Central FoI Team

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S. Rotheram left an annotation ()

Employment of less than 24 hours a week
34424
1.
If it has been agreed that the claimant can restrict their hours of availability to less than 24 hours in a benefit week
1, for example because of caring responsibilities and
2.the employment on offer is for less than 16 hours a week
the claimant will have good cause for refusing or failing to apply for or accept that employment.

2. Where a case does not fall within 1. and 2. above, if a claimant refuses or fails to apply for or accept employment that is for less than 24 hours a week, the claimant will have good cause.
3.
1JSA Regs,reg 75(3); 2 reg 72(5A)(a); 3 reg 72(5A)(b)