To: Philip Dunne MP, Minister of State for Health
Stop zero hours contracts in the NHS
Stop employing workers in the NHS on zero-hours contracts and give them all proper jobs with fixed contracts.
Why is this important?
A lot has been said about the abuses of zero-hour contracts in the private sector but did you know that the NHS also uses them? The consequences are the same for hard-working employees doing vital jobs in our health service as they are for workers in shops and factories:
Uncertainty from week to week around hours, income, shift patterns with an inability to plan holidays and time-off.
It is very hard for staff in these positions to decline shifts, however unreasonable the timing, let alone complain as they risk the management regarding them as troublemakers.
Bill* is a porter for an NHS trust working a zero-hour contract. He never knows more than a week in advance what his hours will be. When in work he often does 12 hour night shifts moving patients, sometimes when critically ill, to and from theatres, X-ray or even the morgue. He applied to have a week off 3 months in advance and was told to come back nearer the time, then when he did so he was told that he had been rostered for that week and had to take unpaid leave.
Gordon* is another porter who, after 10 consecutive days of night shifts was required to take holiday to have a 2 day break.
Eric* would like to visit his girlfriend's family overseas but cannot book a budget flight in advance as he is unable to be confident that he will get time off.
Pete* missed a family wedding in a different part of the country when he was given only the day itself off and could not fit in the necessary travelling time.
Without a guaranteed weekly income people on zero-hours contracts do not know how many hours they will be asked to work in a week which can result in periods with very low income making it difficult to support a family.
Another problem that I am aware of is people being called in for very short shifts that can be as short as 2 hours – despite incurring the same travelling costs and time as a full shift.
Some valuable and important workers in the NHS are employed on zero-hours contracts, porters for example, and that this can continue for multiple years. Although these roles are not glamorous they are essential for the efficient running of hospitals.
Please sign my petition to speak up for these vital but exploited workers in the NHS. This should be a national policy covering all hospitals.
Uncertainty from week to week around hours, income, shift patterns with an inability to plan holidays and time-off.
It is very hard for staff in these positions to decline shifts, however unreasonable the timing, let alone complain as they risk the management regarding them as troublemakers.
Bill* is a porter for an NHS trust working a zero-hour contract. He never knows more than a week in advance what his hours will be. When in work he often does 12 hour night shifts moving patients, sometimes when critically ill, to and from theatres, X-ray or even the morgue. He applied to have a week off 3 months in advance and was told to come back nearer the time, then when he did so he was told that he had been rostered for that week and had to take unpaid leave.
Gordon* is another porter who, after 10 consecutive days of night shifts was required to take holiday to have a 2 day break.
Eric* would like to visit his girlfriend's family overseas but cannot book a budget flight in advance as he is unable to be confident that he will get time off.
Pete* missed a family wedding in a different part of the country when he was given only the day itself off and could not fit in the necessary travelling time.
Without a guaranteed weekly income people on zero-hours contracts do not know how many hours they will be asked to work in a week which can result in periods with very low income making it difficult to support a family.
Another problem that I am aware of is people being called in for very short shifts that can be as short as 2 hours – despite incurring the same travelling costs and time as a full shift.
Some valuable and important workers in the NHS are employed on zero-hours contracts, porters for example, and that this can continue for multiple years. Although these roles are not glamorous they are essential for the efficient running of hospitals.
Please sign my petition to speak up for these vital but exploited workers in the NHS. This should be a national policy covering all hospitals.
