Report Warns Against Use Of 'if And When' Contracts

Report warns against use of 'if and when' contracts

A new report is warning against the use of so-called 'if and when' contracts. A study on the prevalence of 'zero hour' contracts among Irish employers and their impact on employees is being presented to an Oireachtas Jobs Committee later today. The report warns that employers are using 'if and when' arrangements to avoid having to pay low-hours workers their minimum entitlements. John Douglas from Mandate says these contracts put workers in a precarious position. "An 'if and when contract' is a contract that doesn't guarantee you any minimum number of hours" he said. "So you have workers who don't know whether they're going to get 10 hours a week or 40 hours a week - and it'll vary up and down from week to week depending on circumstances and depending on the attitude of local managers" he added.