Zero-hours contract: you cannot be banned from working elsewhere

A zero-hours contract is one where the employer guarantees no set hours: you work when work is offered. By law (Employment Rights Act 1996, section 27A) it is a contract where «there is no certainty that work will be made available».

The exclusivity ban

The key protection: a term that stops you from working for another employer (or allows it only with your employer's permission) is unenforceable in a zero-hours contract — it cannot be used against you (section 27A). This has applied since 2015. In short, if the hours are few and unpredictable, you are free to take other work, and an «exclusivity» clause cannot stop you.

What else matters

A zero-hours contract does not strip you of basic worker rights: you are still owed the National Minimum/Living Wage for hours worked and paid holiday accrued in proportion.