Labour’s Sadiq Khan accused of hypocrisy over zero hour contracts
SIR Sadiq Khan was last night accused of “rank hypocrisy” as it emerged his City Hall employs workers on zero hour contracts – despite Labour plans to ban them.
The Labour London Mayor has attacked zero hour contracts in the past, saying they fuel instability and insecurity.
But shocking new figures reveal his City Hall hired 32 youngsters on zero hour contracts in 2023-2024.
They are Peer Outreach Workers – employees aged 15 to 25 that engage with the public to help inform the Mayor’s policies.
Tory ex-Mayoral candidate Susan Hall – who discovered the figures – fumed: “Sadly, this is the type of rank hypocrisy that we have come to expect of the Mayor.”
She said if the contracts are “good enough for the Mayor, they should be good enough for all of us.”
Zero-hour contracts let bosses hire staff without being required to provide a minimum number of hours to the employee.
Businesses say this lets them hire more staff and also gives employees flexibility to pick and choose their hours.
But critics say they are exploitative because workers are not guaranteed a basic salary.
Sir Keir Starmer’s government plans to ban “exploitative zero hour contracts” in their controversial new workers rights bill.
Although details of what the ban means in practice have been delayed for consultation.
Business chiefs have slammed the Bill, while the government’s own analysis has warned it will cost UK plc a whopping £5billion.
Some Cabinet ministers are pushing for the Bill to be watered down to save businesses.
But Mr Khan has told the PM to ignore the “siren voices” and “oppose any effort to water down this legislation from the same siren voices who opposed the minimum wage”.
A spokesman for the Greater London Authority said: “Peer Outreach Workers are a group of young Londoners who volunteer to engage and gather the opinions of other young people in the capital.
“This is a voluntary role and is not intended as employment. The GLA recognises and values the time that these young people give, and they are therefore reimbursed for it.
“It is for administrative purposes that their contracts are set up as such and this is longstanding practice that was also in place under the previous Mayor.”