The number of hospitality businesses employing staff on zero-hours contracts has halved since 2014, according to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
Twenty-six per cent of restaurants, hotels and pubs made use of the contracts at the end of 2015, down from 53 per cent in 2014.
However, the hospitality industry still has the highest number of businesses employing staff on contracts with no guaranteed minimum hours compared to any other sector.
But the ONS said there was ‘nothing to suggest this form of employment is in decline’, with the overall number of people employed on a zero-hour basis rising to 800,000 in the UK in 2015, up from 697,000 in 2014.
The contracts remain a contentious issue as they offer workers no guaranteed minimum working hours, but provide a flexibility to hospitality businesses employing staff on a seasonal basis.
On average, someone on a zero-hours contract usually works 26 hours a week. But according to ONS research, around one in three people on the contracts want to work more hours in their current job.
Women, young people and those in full-time education are more likely to be on zero-hours contracts compared with other people in employment.
Ufi Ibrahim, chief executive of the British Hospitality Association (BHA), said: “Flexible working contracts play a positive role in the UK economy, reflective of the needs of our modern society.
“Hospitality alone employs 2.9m people in the UK, the fourth largest industry, and offers a wide range of opportunities for people looking for flexible working structures to suit them.”
The study was based on ONS surveys carried out from 11-25 May and 9-23 November last year.
