JD Wetherspoon offers staff chance to move away from zero-hour contracts

JD Wetherspoon is the latest company to offer staff on casual contracts the chance to become permanent employees after pressure from Trade Union Congress (TUC).

Wetherspoon joined Sport Direct and McDonald’s in offering staff the chance to move away from zero-hour contracts. The pub chain employs 24,000 people on zero-hour contracts, which is more than sports retailer Sports Direct.

At the TUC annual conference, general secretary Frances O’Grady said: “After months of Unite’s patient organising, winning public support and using trade union shareholder power, we got a result: an end to zero-hours contracts for retail staff, no more ‘six strikes and out’ and, at long last, the chance to get agency workers on to permanent contracts. A proper win for workers.”

O’Grady praised the actions of pub chain Wetherspoons for allowing all staff on zero-hours contracts to move to ones that provided guaranteed minimum hours.

Founder and chairman of the company Tim Martin told Buzzfeed on Sunday that a trial of offering staff guaranteed hours earlier in the year had proved successful so it would be rolled-out across the country.

"The success of the Wetherspoons trial proves that businesses can be successful without zero-hours contracts," she said.

The staff will be offered guaranteed hours equivalent to about 70% of their typical working week.

Sports direct employees how want to move to a permanent contract could be on zero-hour deals until the end of the year according to The Guardian. More than 18,000 at sports direct are on casual cotracts.

“As you will appreciate, given the large number of casual staff engaged by the company, such a change cannot be implemented for everyone overnight. It is our intention that all members of the company’s casual workforce will be given the opportunity to elect to become an employee, or stay on their current terms, by the end of the year” Head of people at sports direct Leon Turnbull.

O’Grady however is taking no prisoners. “let me give fair warning to any greedy business that treats its workers like animals – we will shine a light on you. There will be no hiding place. We will organise and we will win. Britain’s unions will not rest until every worker gets the fair treatment they deserve” said O’Grady.

Share price fell 2.32% at 924.50p at 15:17 BST on Monday.