Zero-hours contracts
Understand the advantages and disadvantages of zero-hours contracts, recent UK legislative changes, and good practices to follow
Recommendations for ensuring a financial safety net for workers during illness
The vulnerability of many workers forced to rely on Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) during COVID-19, or not being able to access it at all, exposed the fault lines in the UK system. This is not a new issue though, with the 2017 Taylor Review highlighting the need for regulatory changes to support people with long-term health conditions to remain in quality work.
Despite reform of SSP being a key focus of several UK government consultations, there are no plans to take forward any substantive proposals to improve the system.
This paper examines the SSP reforms that the CIPD believes are needed and makes recommendations to outline how public policy and employer practice should work together to support people’s health and employment outcomes.
Download the full policy paper and recommendations overview to find out more
To adequately support people’s health and employment outcomes, the CIPD’s recommendations for the UK Government and for employers are as follows: 
Understand the advantages and disadvantages of zero-hours contracts, recent UK legislative changes, and good practices to follow
Understand and take action to respond to the impact of the changes to sexual harassment and harassment protection measures employers need to take
Our submission to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade
Dedicated analysis of job quality and its impact on organisations and working lives in Scotland
Read our latest Labour Market Outlook report for analysis on employers’ recruitment, redundancy and pay intentions
An annual benchmark of job quality in the UK, providing data and evidence-based insight on how to improve work and working lives
Insights, benchmarking data and recommendations from the CIPD's latest survey on employee benefits