Debbie Abrahams MP, Labour’s Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary, commenting on new figures from the Office for National Statistics showing that the number of  people working on zero-hours contracts has increased by a fifth since last year and more than five-fold since 2010, said:

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

“Before the 2015 election the Tories promised to act on zero-hours contracts, but these numbers show that was nothing more than words.  A record 903,000 British workers cannot be certain of the number of hours they are going to work one week to another, with the numbers increasing by a fifth since last year and by five-fold since 2010.

“This is on the back of cuts to Universal Credit that will result in 2.5 million working families being an average of £2,100 worse off, hitting people in insecure low paid work the hardest. On top of this, there are worrying reports of people on zero-hours contracts reliant on social security support who are being subject to ‘in-work conditionality’ and unfairly sanctioned.

“Only Labour will tackle the crisis of insecure work and provide the secure, high skilled, well paid jobs we need, and a social security system that is fit for purpose.”