Employers who do not guarantee staff any hours of work and prevent them from working for another employer will no longer be able to enforce such restrictions (known as exclusivity clauses) under the law.

The ban on the use of exclusivity clauses in zero-hours contracts, which was first proposed by the outgoing coalition government, comes into force today under the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015.

Before today, employers were not prohibited from seeking “exclusivity” from a member of staff as this was considered a contractual matter to be agreed between the employer and individual. However, from the results of a consultation on the matter, most considered this to be an unfair and unreasonable restriction on a staff member’s freedom to accept other work opportunities, obtain control over working hours and from boosting his or her income.

For help and advice regarding your contracts of employment, including zero-hours contracts, contact a member of our Employment Law team.