It has emerged that hundreds of agency staff hired to work at an outdoor concert would go unpaid due to the cancellation of the concert because of adverse weather. Punk band Green Day were scheduled to play a concert at Glasgow Bellahouston Park on Tuesday 4 July, adverse weather conditions forced the concert promoters to cancel the event mere minutes before the concert gates were due to open.
Casual agency workers contracted by Onpoint+ were due to work a 12 hour shift at the event. Workers were due to undergo training from 11am on Tuesday morning with the bars closing at 11pm after the concert had concluded.
The incident strengthens calls to outlaw zero hour contracts on the basis that they allow for work to be cancelled at a late stage with no notice, sometimes leaving workers in a difficult financial position . Some countries, such as New Zealand, have banned zero hours contracts for this very reason. Contracts of employment of a ‘normal’ nature tend to guarantee hours for the employee/worker however with zero hours contracts no such obligation exists and therefore employers are legally permitted to cancel prearranged work with no requirement to provide notice (or warning) to the worker.
If you are an employee or an employer with a query about zero hours contracts, contact us online by clicking here or speak to a member of our specialist team on 0333 222 1855.
