Public Policy: Member Consultation Meeting – Zero Hours Contract Measures Employment Rights Act

Meeting Agenda

The ERA will introduce new rights for workers, including agency workers.

• They will have a right to be offered a regular hours contract by the client after an initial reference period;
• they will be entitled to reasonable notice of shifts and shift cancellations;
• and have a right to compensation payments for short notice cancellations and changes.

These are all totally new rights, and the government is consulting on a wide range of options which will impact the scope of the final regulations and the impact on our members.

For those wanting to learn more read DBT’s slides summarising the key issues in the consultation : https://uk.apsco.org/member-hub/public-policy-hub/intelligence and the open consultation.

The consultation closes on 25^th August 2026.

This F2F meeting is an opportunity to debate the complex issues raised in the consultation, to evaluate likely impact on professional sectors and to feed into APSCo’s response. It will provide a steer to members making their own submissions and help frame the guidance they are providing to their clients and customers.

These regulations will affect ALL members including those supplying umbrella company workers and supplying into professional sectors. Recruiters supplying into sectors where shift filling and last-minute provision is standard will be particularly affected by the notice and cancellation provisions.