Zero-Hours Contract Checker
The Employment Rights Act 2025 gives zero-hours workers the right to guaranteed hours. The right to guaranteed hours is expected to take effect in 2027 (exact date subject to secondary legislation). Shift notice and cancellation payment rights are separate and take effect October 2026. This tool will launch when the guaranteed hours legislation takes effect.
What this tool will do
When it launches in 2027, the Zero-Hours Contract Checker will help you:
- 1 Identify qualifying workers. Enter your workers' hours over the reference period to see who has built up the right to guaranteed hours.
- 2 Calculate the offer. See the average hours worked and the working pattern you'll need to offer each qualifying worker.
- 3 Understand your deadlines. See when you need to make each offer and what the process looks like if a worker declines.
- 4 Check shift notice obligations. Confirm whether you're meeting the "reasonable notice" requirement for scheduling shifts under the new rules.
Get notified when it launches
We'll email you when the guaranteed hours tool goes live in 2027, and when secondary legislation confirms the commencement date, reference period length, and other key details.
What's changing with zero-hours contracts?
The Employment Rights Act 2025 contains the most significant reform to zero-hours and variable-hours working since these arrangements became widespread in the early 2000s. There are two separate sets of changes: shift notice and cancellation payment rights (October 2026) and the right to guaranteed hours (expected 2027 — exact date subject to secondary legislation).
If a worker on a zero-hours or low-guaranteed-hours contract works a consistent pattern of hours over a defined reference period, the employer is legally required to offer them a contract that reflects those hours. The worker may accept or decline — the right is to an offer, not a forced change.
Who does this affect?
Around 1 million workers in the UK are on zero-hours contracts. The sectors most affected are hospitality, retail, social care, and logistics — areas where employers have historically used flexible staffing arrangements most heavily.
The provisions also cover low-hours contracts (sometimes called "minimum hours" or "bank" contracts) where workers are guaranteed a small number of hours but regularly work many more. For example, a worker on a 4-hours-per-week contract who regularly works 20 hours will be entitled to an offer reflecting those 20 hours.
Shift notice obligations
Alongside the guaranteed hours right, the Act also introduces a requirement for employers to give workers reasonable notice before scheduling a shift. Secondary legislation is expected to define "reasonable" as at least 72 hours.
Importantly, if a shift is cancelled without reasonable notice, the employer is required to pay the worker for the cancelled shift. This is a significant change for businesses that currently cancel shifts at short notice without compensation.
What should employers do now?
Both sets of changes are coming. If your business uses zero-hours or variable-hours arrangements, you should act now:
- Audit your zero-hours workforce — who works regular hours and who doesn't?
- Start keeping records of hours worked per worker, per week, now — the reference period clock is already running
- Prepare contract templates for the guaranteed-hours offers you'll need to make
- Review your shift scheduling and cancellation practices
- Brief managers on the new obligations
Read our full guide for more detail: Zero-hours contracts — what's changing (October 2026 and 2027) →
Sources:
Employment Rights Act 2025, sections 1–7.
Department for Business and Trade impact assessment.
ACAS guidance on zero-hours contracts.
GOV.UK employment status guidance.
Last updated: April 2026. Secondary legislation details pending.