Owen Smith MP, Labour’s Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary, commenting on new research from the ONS showing that over 800,000 people are now working on zero-hours contracts a rise by over 100,000, said:

“The scale of the crisis of insecure work under the Tories is getting worse with every passing week. 

“Before the election they promised to act on zero-hours contracts, but these numbers show that was nothing more than words.  Spiralling numbers of British workers cannot be certain where their next day’s work is coming from, making it virtually impossible to plan finances and family life.

“While from this April their cuts to Universal Credit will take an average of £1,600 from over two million low and middle paid working families, hitting people in insecure low paid work hardest.

“The test for this Budget is whether it can start to lay the foundations for a modern economy.  So the government must act on this crisis by reversing the Universal Credit cuts and properly clamp downing on exploitative zero-hour contracts.”