Zero-hours contract template: every clause a UK employer needs

Sources last checked: 26 July 2026 — every legal claim on this page links to gov.uk or Acas.

A zero-hours contract is an employment contract with no guaranteed hours — you offer work when you have it, and (in a true zero-hours arrangement) the worker can turn it down. It still comes with day-one legal duties, and it's about to change more than any other contract type under the Employment Rights Act 2025.

Here's every clause yours must cover, what the law says about each, and the wording traps to avoid.

The baseline: a written statement on or before day one

Whatever the hours, you must give the main written statement of employment particulars on or before the first day of work — pay, hours, holiday, notice, sick pay, probation terms and more. Source: gov.uk — employment contracts. Acas publishes free basic written-statement templates — we're not going to pretend otherwise. What a bare template doesn't do is handle the zero-hours-specific clauses below, or stay current while the law moves. That's the part we do.

The clauses that make it zero-hours — and the wording that matters

1. The hours clause. State plainly that no minimum hours are guaranteed and how work will be offered (how much notice of a shift, how the worker accepts or declines).

2. No exclusivity clause — it would be unenforceable. You cannot ban a zero-hours worker from working for someone else. Don't include such a clause; it has no legal effect. Source: gov.uk — zero-hours contracts.

3. Holiday: 12.07% accrual. For irregular-hours workers, statutory holiday builds up at 12.07% of hours worked in each pay period. Rolled-up holiday pay (paying the 12.07% on top of each payslip instead of when leave is taken) is permitted for leave years starting on or after 1 April 2024 — but only if it's itemised separately on the payslip. Your contract should state which method you use. Source: gov.uk — holiday entitlement.

4. Pay. At least the National Minimum Wage for every hour worked, stated with the pay interval and calculation method. Rates change every 1 April — check the current rates on gov.uk rather than writing a number into the contract that goes stale.

5. Sick pay. Since 6 April 2026, Statutory Sick Pay is a day-one right with no lower earnings limit — a zero-hours worker on low, irregular earnings can qualify. Contracts written before April 2026 routinely get this wrong. Source: government's ERA 2025 implementation roadmap (SSP changes in force 6 April 2026 — see our Employment Rights Act 2025 timeline).

6. Everything the written statement needs anyway: names, start date, place of work, job description, notice periods both ways, probation terms, other paid leave, benefits, training. Source: gov.uk — employment contracts.

If the role comes with a probation period, write the reviews down as you go — our probation review template gives you the form.

⚠ Zero-hours contracts are the ERA 2025's main target

During 2027 (commencement date still to be confirmed by the government), employers will have to offer guaranteed hours to qualifying zero- and low-hours workers, based on the hours they actually work over a reference period. Every zero-hours contract in use will need reviewing when the date is set. Source: government's ERA 2025 implementation roadmap, as revised 16 July 2026 — tracked with sources on our Employment Rights Act 2025 timeline.

We email subscribers the moment that commencement date is announced — that's the point of the reminder list.