Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to his Department’s consultation document entitled Make Work Pay: ending one-sided flexibility – reforms of zero hours and similar contracts, published on 2 June 2026, if he will set out the weighting applied to the costs and benefits to (a) workers and (b) employers when considering where to set the hours threshold.

The government’s preference is to set the threshold within the range of 8 to 20 hours per week on the basis that options within this range are more likely to provide a favourable balance of costs and benefits.

We are consulting on the hours threshold and we encourage stakeholders to engage with the consultation which will run until 25 August 2026 so we can get the details right and ensure the new rights work for everyone.