How will new rights for zero and low-hours staff affect contracts, rotas and operational planning?

Few organisations have exactly the same staffing requirements every week of the year. Demand changes, projects begin and end, staff are absent and unexpected pressures emerge. There may be periods of increased activity, seasonal demands, inspections, elections or short-term projects that require additional capacity. Flexible staffing arrangements often provide a practical way to respond to these challenges.

The Employment Rights Act 2025 (ERA 2025) introduces new rights for qualifying workers on zero and low-hours contracts, including the right to be offered guaranteed hours in certain circumstances, alongside new protections relating to shift notice and last-minute changes. While many of the detailed rules will be set out in regulations, employers can already begin considering what the reforms may mean in practice.

For many employers, particularly schools, local authorities and other public sector organisations, flexibility is not simply a matter of convenience. It is often essential to maintaining services within tight financial constraints while responding to fluctuating demand. The challenge presented by the ERA 2025 is therefore not whether flexibility can continue, but how organisations balance operational agility with greater certainty for workers.

Looking beyond the contract

Representatives of employees and trade unions have long criticised the use of zero and low-hours contracts as a way of abusing low-income workers, providing no job security and low income.

As such, one of the key reforms under ERA 2025 attempts to address this imbalance through the introduction of a right for qualifying workers to be offered guaranteed hours based on the hours they regularly work during a reference period. It is suggested that the initial reference period will be 12 weeks, followed by subsequent reference periods that could be longer. This essentially means that the duty to make an offer of guaranteed hours will keep applying. The intention is to provide greater certainty and protection where a worker’s actual working pattern is more predictable than their contractual arrangement suggests.

One of the most significant aspects of the reforms is that employers will no longer be able to assess risk simply by reviewing the wording of contracts. Tribunals are likely to look at the reality of the working relationship. A worker engaged on a zero-hours contract who has worked broadly consistent hours over a prolonged period may acquire rights that bear little resemblance to the contractual label attached to their engagement. Employers should therefore look beyond contractual terms and consider how arrangements operate in practice, particularly where working patterns have evolved over time.

This may be particularly relevant for schools and MATs that engage casual workers, such as cover supervisors and lunchtime staff, where working patterns can vary significantly over the year. Someone who was initially engaged to provide occasional support may now work significantly more hours than their contract provides for. In other cases, managers may consistently rely on the same individuals to meet staffing needs because they already know the role and can quickly step in when required.

Understanding these arrangements will be important when assessing whether existing contracts remain appropriate and whether future obligations may arise under the new framework. Organisations may need to make adjustments, such as providing clearer terms in zero-hours contracts, including any guarantee of work, offering permanent contracts or finding ways to adjust current staffing arrangements.

Workforce planning: a greater focus on rota management

These reforms are likely to encourage employers to take a more strategic approach to workforce planning. Rather than viewing casual workers as a separate staffing resource, organisations may need to consider how temporary and permanent staffing models interact over time.

In some organisations, repeated reliance on the same casual workers may indicate that what began as a short-term requirement has developed into an ongoing staffing need. Equally, employers may wish to consider whether work could be distributed more evenly across a wider pool of casual workers where this reflects genuine operational requirements, rather than consistently allocating shifts to the same individuals.

These are not simply legal considerations. They are workforce planning decisions that may influence recruitment, budgeting and service delivery in the coming years.

The reforms also introduce rights relating to reasonable notice of shifts and compensation where shifts are cancelled, moved or curtailed at short notice. Detailed requirements are still being developed; for example, the definitions of terms such as ‘reasonable’ and ‘short notice’ are still subject to consultation, although it is known that ‘short notice’ cannot exceed 7 days. Nevertheless, workforce planning is likely to become an increasingly important consideration, as a failure to do so could lead to a tribunal claim, which any employer would be keen to avoid.

Many organisations need to adapt quickly when circumstances change. However, where shift changes become necessary, employers may need to think more carefully about how decisions are communicated and recorded. Although the measures will likely not take effect until 2027, prudent employers will conduct a risk assessment of the current staffing models and take advice on alternative models for engaging casual or temporary staff.

Some useful questions to consider include:

• How far in advance are rotas typically issued?
• How often are shifts changed after they have been allocated?
• Are rota changes recorded consistently?
• Do managers follow a common approach when adjusting staffing levels?
• Can the organisation easily identify who has worked particular shifts and when?

These issues are often operational rather than legal, but they are likely to become more significant as the new rights take effect.

Another area that organisations should not overlook is the role of line managers. Decisions about allocating work, cancelling shifts or repeatedly offering additional hours are often made locally rather than centrally involving HR. Without consistent guidance, managers operating identical contractual arrangements may inadvertently create different levels of legal risk depending on how they use flexible workers in practice.

Providing managers with practical guidance on rota planning, record keeping and shift allocation may therefore become just as important as updating contractual documentation.

Data and governance

One practical challenge employers may underestimate is the importance of workforce data. Demonstrating compliance with the new rights will depend upon understanding how many hours individuals have actually worked during the relevant reference period.

Organisations that rely on multiple systems for payroll, scheduling and time recording, or that continue to use manual spreadsheets for rota management, may find it more difficult to identify emerging obligations. This may be particularly challenging within local authorities, where different departments often operate independent workforce management arrangements despite being part of the same employer.

Reviewing the quality of workforce data now may help identify gaps before the new obligations take effect.

Reviewing existing arrangements

Although implementation is still ongoing, employers do not need to wait before reviewing their current practices.

A useful starting point may be to examine:

• Where casual, bank or low-hours arrangements are being used
• How hours worked are monitored and recorded
• Whether managers have clear guidance on scheduling and shift changes
• How much visibility the organisation has over flexible staffing arrangements
• Whether workforce systems provide accurate and consistent information

Reviewing current practices is crucial; despite the positive reforms that the ERA 2025 introduces, it also places a huge administrative and potentially practical burden on employers, particularly local authorities.

For example, fire authorities who employ on-call firefighters in the UK may face a challenge in ensuring compliance with the requirement to provide their workers with a reasonable notice of shifts, especially when the nature of their work is unpredictable and may leave little opportunity to provide more than very short notice.

A helpful remedy would be for such workers to fall into the category of an ‘excluded worker’: one who would not be entitled to reasonable notice of working hours. The definition of an ‘excluded worker’ is still to be defined in further regulations, however, taking stock now may help identify practical issues before compliance becomes a more pressing concern.

Looking ahead

While much of the discussion surrounding the ERA 2025 has understandably focused on the legal reforms themselves, the more significant challenge for many employers is likely to be operational rather than contractual. Understanding how flexible working arrangements are being used in practice, how rotas are managed and how workforce data is recorded will be key to preparing for the new framework. Employers do not need to wait until every detail of the legislation has been finalised before taking action. Organisations that take steps now to review their arrangements and strengthen workforce planning will be better placed to respond as further details emerge.

Atlanta Burgon is a Solicitor and Kefa Reid is a Solicitor Apprentice at Invicta Law.

Invicta Law provides bespoke training on the practical implications of the Employment Rights Act 2025. Please contact our This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to discuss your organisation’s requirements.