Courtesy Scotsman
1.4 million workers are employed on contracts with no guarantee of work.

AROUND 1.4 million workers are employed on contracts that do not guarantee a minimum number of hours, according to new figures from the Office for National Statistics.

The ONS said most of the contracts were so-called zero hours, under which people are not guaranteed work from one week to the next.

Some workers could have more than one contract, officials pointed out.

A study among employers showed that 13% used non-guaranteed hours contracts, rising to almost half in the tourism, catering and food sectors.

More than one in five employers in health and social work reported using them, but they were relatively rare in financial, manufacturing, energy and agricultural services.

The ONS study, among 5,000 employers, is the biggest of its type yet published and showed the average number of hours on the contracts was 25 a week.

Under-25s and those over 65 were more likely to be employed on zero-hours contracts. Two-thirds of those counted worked part-time.

Larger employers were more likely to use zero-hours contracts.