Strontium Dog wrote:I never "assert" anything without data. You could find the data online quicker than you could write that response. Rest assured, if I write something, it's a demonstrable fact.

Scot Dutchy wrote:

Strontium Dog wrote:I never "assert" anything without data. You could find the data online quicker than you could write that response. Rest assured, if I write something, it's a demonstrable fact.

Too lazy to show it then. You are making the assertion then provide the evidence.

In terms of the actual hours worked by those on zero hours contracts, the LFS data in Chart 3 shows that the average ‘usual weekly hours’ worked under zero hours contracts has declined from over 30 to in the range of 21 - 25 hours.

The average actual weekly hours worked by people in employment who report being on a zero-hours contract is 22 hours compared with 32 hours for all workers.

From the pdf wrote:As with any sample survey, estimates from the LFS are subject to a margin of uncertainty. For the
April to June 2014 figure, it is estimated that the true figure is likely to lie between 558,000 and
686,000. This is in addition to the likely reporting error as mentioned above.
The estimates presented here are not seasonally adjusted. This means that possible short-term
effects associated with the time of year may influence the figures. For this reason, ONS does not
recommend comparing the difference between the latest estimates for April to June 2014 with
October to December 2013 as a measure of change. Any seasonal factors associated with zero-
hours contracts will not be measurable until a sufficient time-series has been established.

Strontium Dog wrote:

THWOTH wrote:What a shocking defunct system they seem to have erected inherited.

Fixed that for you.

Strontium Dog wrote:Always the mendacious implication that a zero hours contract means that people actually work zero hours, when the average is 21 hours a week. Anything to paint real jobs as fake jobs, I suppose.

Proportion of people in employment by age

ONS: Analysis of Employee Contracts that do not Guarantee a Minimum Number of Hours
April 2014
http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/dcp171776_361578.pdf

A landmark study of the coalition’s tax and welfare policies six months before the general election reveals how money has been transferred from the poorest to the better off, apparently refuting the chancellor of the exchequer’s claims that the country has been “all in it together”.

According to independent research to be published on Monday and seen by the Observer, George Osborne has been engaged in a significant transfer of income from the least well-off half of the population to the more affluent in the past four years. Those with the lowest incomes have been hit hardest. (cont)

mrjonno wrote:With ZHC it's very simple , if you want to be a temp without guaranteed work that is fine just make it illegal for any company to prevent you from working for someone else.

mrjonno wrote:With ZHC it's very simple , if you want to be a temp without guaranteed work that is fine just make it illegal for any company to prevent you from working for someone else.

The benefits system also needs to reform itself as it takes far too long to processs change

Councils are in crisis – and it happened on Nick Clegg’s watch
English councils will soon have lost almost a quarter of their funding in five years thanks to coalition policies

A catchy, engaging yet shocking cartoon outlining the crisis facing Sheffield is doing the rounds in the constituency city of Nick Clegg. In what should prove the ultimate local embarrassment for the deputy prime minister, the short city council film graphically illustrates the unprecedented onslaught against local government.

English councils will soon have lost almost a quarter of their funding in five years. Those most in need, such as Sheffield, are being hit hardest. It has happened on the watch of the MP for Sheffield Hallam.

Since 2010, £238m has been removed from Sheffield city council’s budget, with a further £60m likely to be slashed next year. “We are facing the worst financial crisis in our history,” says the cartoon commentator, deceptively calmly. She politely reminds viewers, in friendly South Yorkshire tones – delivering hard evidence rather than raw emotion – that authorities in the leafy south are faring far better than big cities such as Sheffield.

...

This crisis is so grave that the local MP might normally protest to the government. Perhaps, to be charitable, he has already done so privately. But, then, Nick Clegg is deputy prime minister. Much as he might like – belatedly, Lib-Dems are trying to distance themselves from the coalition’s excesses – he cannot realistically dissociate himself from the actions of communities and local government secretary Eric Pickles. Since 2010, a Lib Dem MP has held a ministerial post in Pickles’ department. I don’t recall any resignations.

...

Strontium Dog wrote:... As it happens, the government is already taking steps to ban exclusivity clauses.

Strontium Dog wrote:

mrjonno wrote:With ZHC it's very simple , if you want to be a temp without guaranteed work that is fine just make it illegal for any company to prevent you from working for someone else.

The benefits system also needs to reform itself as it takes far too long to processs change

I find myself in a rare moment of complete agreement with a mrjonno post. As it happens, the government is already taking steps to ban exclusivity clauses.

OlivierK wrote:

Strontium Dog wrote:

mrjonno wrote:With ZHC it's very simple , if you want to be a temp without guaranteed work that is fine just make it illegal for any company to prevent you from working for someone else.

The benefits system also needs to reform itself as it takes far too long to processs change

I find myself in a rare moment of complete agreement with a mrjonno post. As it happens, the government is already taking steps to ban exclusivity clauses.

Taking steps? After 90% of a five year term? Sounds like the government is deeply committed to this!