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End of zero-hours contracts

Zero-hours contracts are being abolished: prepare for contracts with a fixed range of hoursZero-hours contracts are being abolished: prepare for contracts with a fixed range of hours Do you work with zero-hours or min/max contracts? As of 1 January 2028 these forms are no longer permitted. Instead, you agree on a fixed range of hours: a minimum and a maximum number of hours, with the maximum no more than 130% of the minimum, measured over at most one quarter. Agree 20 hours a week and the ceiling is 26. You must give at least four days' notice of a call-in — reducible to 24 hours by collective agreement; call in later or withdraw the call-in in whole or in part, and wages remain due. After twelve months you must offer a fixed number of hours equal to the average; if you do nothing, the law converts the contract automatically. Check your contracts now, so you know what needs to change.

Tightened chain-of-contracts rules

Tightened chain-of-contracts rules: a three-year look-back periodDo you offer fixed-term contracts? The main rule remains: a maximum of three fixed-term contracts within three years. What changes is the interruption period: the chain now restarts after six months, but as of 1 January 2028 only after three years (an amendment cut this from five years to 36 months). If a former employee returns after a year, their contract history still counts — and a permanent contract may arise sooner than you expect. For employees under 18, school pupils and students the six-month period still applies, provided they work no more than 12 hours a week on average. Include this in due diligence for acquisitions.

Agency workers

Agency workers: equivalent employment conditions as early as 31 December 2026Do you use temporary agency workers? As of 31 December 2026, agency workers are entitled to employment conditions that are at least equivalent to those of your own employees doing comparable work — across the board, not just pay and working hours. As the hirer, you must be able to substantiate that equivalence and provide the relevant conditions to the agency. As of 1 January 2028 the agency work phases also shorten: phase A from 78 to a maximum of 52 weeks, phase B to two years with no more than six fixed-term contracts. Expect temporary agency work to become more expensive and less flexible; payrolling has its own, stricter regime.

Transfer fee and victimisation ban

Taking on an agency worker permanently? The transfer fee is being cappedDo you wish to employ an agency worker directly once the assignment ends? The agency may charge a reasonable fee; it has, after all, invested in recruitment and placement. These amounts vary widely and sometimes block a move into permanent employment altogether. What is new is that a ministerial regulation may cap the fee, with effect from 1 January 2027. The Act also prohibits adverse treatment: you may not dismiss an employee, cut their hours or otherwise disadvantage them for invoking the new rules or complaining about them — for instance in connection with a change to their agreed range of hours. Record contract changes carefully and verifiably.