Redundancy on a Zero-Hours Contract: Do You Qualify?

The common misconception

Many zero-hours workers are told — sometimes by their employer, sometimes by colleagues — that they have no redundancy rights because of their contract type. This is not automatically true.

The contract label matters less than the substance of the working relationship. What determines whether you qualify for statutory redundancy pay is whether you are an employee and whether you have two or more years of continuous employment. Both of these questions require a closer look.

Are you an employee?

Zero-hours contracts can sit on a spectrum. At one end, a genuinely casual arrangement where you pick up shifts with no obligation to accept them and no obligation for the employer to offer them — this is likely "worker" status, not employee status, and carries fewer protections.

At the other end, a long-running arrangement where you work every week, your employer schedules you without asking whether you are available, and it would be unusual for you to decline — this may well be employment in practice, regardless of what the contract says.

Courts and tribunals look at the reality of the relationship, not just the label on the contract. Factors pointing toward employee status include:

• Working regularly and predictably over a sustained period
• Being integrated into the business (having a company email address, attending staff meetings, being managed day-to-day)
• The employer controlling how and when you work, not just the outcome
• Being subject to discipline or performance management
• Exclusivity — not working for other clients in the same type of work

If you believe you were an employee in practice, you can challenge your employment status even if your contract says otherwise.

Continuity of service on a zero-hours contract

Even if you are clearly an employee, you still need two years of continuous service to qualify for statutory redundancy pay. On a zero-hours contract, this raises the question of whether weeks without any work break continuity.

The short answer is: no, short gaps generally do not break continuity.

Under the Employment Rights Act 1996, continuity is preserved during weeks where:

• You actually work under the contract
• You are on a temporary cessation of work (a break that was always expected to be temporary)
• There is an arrangement or custom of re-engagement after each break

Seasonal workers and zero-hours workers who are regularly re-engaged after periods of no work have successfully argued continuity before tribunals. The key test is whether each break was genuinely temporary and whether both parties expected the arrangement to continue.

What if there have been long gaps?

Long unexplained gaps are more difficult. If you had no contact with the employer for several months, did not appear on their systems, and had to re-apply or be re-interviewed before returning, a tribunal may treat this as a break in continuity.

However, even a single break does not necessarily restart the clock to zero. Continuity before the break may still count if the gap itself does not break continuity under the statutory rules.

This is genuinely complex territory. If you have had gaps in your zero-hours arrangement and are trying to assess whether you have two years of continuous service, it is worth getting specific advice — many employment solicitors offer free initial consultations.

What if your employer says you are self-employed?

If your employer has classified you as self-employed (and you have been operating under that assumption), you do not automatically have employee rights — but you may be able to challenge that classification.

HMRC and Employment Tribunals assess employment status independently. An employer can call you self-employed on a contract, but if the working relationship looks like employment in practice, a tribunal may find that it is. This has happened regularly in gig economy cases over recent years.

If you have been working under a self-employed arrangement but believe the substance of your relationship is employment, take advice before accepting that you have no redundancy rights.

Steps to take if you are on a zero-hours contract

1. Gather evidence of your working pattern — shifts worked, communications, payslips, schedules
2. Review your contract to understand how it describes your status and obligations
3. Calculate how long you have been engaged and how regularly you worked
4. Use our calculator to estimate your potential entitlement if you do qualify

See our guide on what to do first if you have just been made redundant for the broader steps to take whatever your contract type.

The fact that your employer says you do not qualify is not the end of the analysis — it is worth checking properly before accepting that position.