On 2 June 2026, the government launched a consultation on the new rights that are due to be conferred on workers who have no guaranteed working hours (zero hours workers) and on workers who have working hours that are only guaranteed up to (and including) a threshold number of hours per week (“low hours” workers). Agency workers fall within the scope of the legislation along with those who are directly engaged.
In brief, when the relevant provisions of the Employment Rights Act 2025 (ERA) come into force, qualifying workers will have the right to:
be made an offer of guaranteed working hours that reflects the hours they have regularly worked during a reference period. The worker can decline the offer if they wish;
reasonable notice of shifts, including changes to shifts; and
payment for shifts that are cancelled, moved or curtailed by the employer at short notice.
These provisions are currently due to come into force sometime in 2027.
Although the ERA creates a framework for these rights, the legislation was lacking in key details, which are to be set out in further regulations. It is these details that are the focus of the current consultation, and which will determine the impact that these changes will have on employers in future. The consultation envisages that the final regulations may treat agency workers differently to those who are directly engaged including by setting different parameters for the various rights to apply.
Right to be offered guaranteed hours
An important aspect of the consultation is who will qualify for the right to be offered guaranteed hours. The government is considering a range of options for the “low hours” threshold, and its preference is for it to be set between eight and 20 hours per week (adjusted for workers whose working hours are not expressed in weeks, for example annualised hours workers). The consultation also asks if any workers should be excluded from the right and whether any exemptions to the requirement to make an offer of guaranteed hours should apply. Exclusions could apply, for example, to seasonal workers or workers who are only needed temporarily, such as in relation to a specific event although this is all to be determined.
The requirement for an employer to make an offer of guaranteed hours will be triggered when the number of hours that a qualifying worker works in a reference period exceeds the number of hours set out in their contract. The consultation seeks views on the length of the initial reference period, which will start either on the day the legislation takes effect or on the day that the worker first starts to work for the employer, if later. The government’s preference is for the initial reference period to be 12 weeks. The consultation also looks at whether subsequent reference periods should be the same as or longer than the initial reference period and whether each reference period should follow straight on from the other or if there should be gaps between reference periods.
To be taken into account, the hours worked must meet certain requirements as to regularity and the government puts forward two options for how this could be determined. The first is that the hours worked during the reference period must be distributed over a specified minimum number of calendar weeks out of the total length of the reference period. For example, if the requirement is set at 8 weeks, then a worker who worked in eight or more weeks of a 12-week initial reference period would potentially qualify. The second is to impose both a weekly distribution requirement, as above, and a requirement that the worker works at least a certain number of hours over their contractual hours in the reference period before they qualify for the right. This would, of course, make it harder for workers to qualify.
The consultation also looks at whether, when workers qualify for a guaranteed hours offer, the number of hours offered to the worker should be calculated on a mean or median average and whether employers will have flexibility to determine how the hours should be allocated (or example on a weekly or monthly basis).
Rights to reasonable notice of shifts and payment for shifts cancelled moved or curtailed at short notice
Again, the first question the consultation poses on these rights is who should qualify for them. The government recognises that even workers with a substantial number of guaranteed hours can be affected by changes to shifts. It therefore looks likely that the hours threshold to qualify for these rights will be higher than the threshold for the right to be offered guaranteed hours, although we do not yet have a steer on what this will be.
The government is seeking views on what should be set down as ‘reasonable’ notice of shifts and the circumstances on which longer notice should be required or shorter notice allowed (for example if an employer is seeking cover for a worker who is sick) and any exemptions from liability that should apply.
It is also seeking views on what constitutes short notice of cancellation, movement or curtailment of shifts by the employer, although under the ERA this will not be less than seven days. The government is also considering whether there should be one time period, or to have a short notice period and a “very short notice” period, with a higher payment due to the worker for cancellations, movements and curtailments at “very short” notice.
Another question is whether payment for shifts cancelled, curtailed or cancelled at short notice should be based on a percentage (and what percentage) of what the worker would actually have earned for the shift or based on a percentage of national minimum wage. There is also a question on whether the Fair Work Agency should have enforcement powers in relation to failure to make such payments.
Finally, views are sought on whether the Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003, should be amended to take these rights into account and, if so, how they should be amended.
Next steps
The full consultation can be found here: Make Work Pay: ending one-sided flexibility – reforms of zero hours and similar contracts - GOV.UK. The deadline for responses is 11:59pm on 25 August 2026, after which time the government will develop its final policy positions on the changes, which will be reflected in regulations.
In the meantime, we recommend that employers track their use of workers on zero hours contracts and contracts with guaranteed working hours of 20 hours or fewer per week (this being the highest number of hours in the government’s preferred threshold range) to determine the number of hours that those workers are regularly working and how those hours are distributed. Employers should also consider their arrangements for allocating and changing shifts. In each case, this will help employers to be ready to react to the forthcoming changes when final details are announced.
See our ERA bitesize webinar series for practical guidance on the Employment Rights Act 2025, including our upcoming session on zero-hours workers on 12 November 2026. Plus download our ERA 2025 guide for key action points, register for upcoming webinars and access previous recordings.
