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Best zero hour contract jobs

Zero hour contract jobs don’t have the best reputation.

We’ve even explored whether zero hour contracts are good.

So what is Breakroom’s verdict on zero hour jobs?

There are people who really need the flexibility that is specific to zero hour contract jobs.

The idea of zero hour contract jobs, in and of themselves, is not bad. The problems start when they are misused.

There are people for whom zero hour contracts are necessary, otherwise they’re unable to work. They’re as deserving of a good job as everyone else is.

So we’ve asked workers with zero hour contracts what their jobs are like. What would they rate them? Let’s find out.

This is what we'll be covering:

We have a lot of companies that employ zero hour contract workers on Breakroom.

We want to keep this list at a manageable length. So we've only featured companies that have 10+ job reviews from zero hour contract workers.

The best companies that offer zero hour contract jobs

  1. 1

    Amazon

    Breakroom Rating based on 174 job reviews

    6.4/10
    What is this?

    What is the Breakroom Rating?

    Close

    We’re different from other job review sites.

    Breakroom Ratings are a fair and objective measure of how good an employer is.

    Instead of giving us a personal opinion of their workplace, everyone on Breakroom answers the same set of questions about their job.

    This means we can measure what jobs are really like at an employer, and you can trust the Breakroom Rating to find out where’s best to work.

    • Most people find it easy to change shifts

      Good

    • Most people don’t get 4 weeks notice of when they’re working

      Not great

    Best thing

    Making cystomers happy

    Driving associate, July 2020

    Worst thing

    Computers run everything

    Flexi, July 2020

    See what 174 people said
    about jobs at Amazon

  2. 2

    NHS

    Breakroom Rating based on 1533 job reviews

    6.3/10
    What is this?

    What is the Breakroom Rating?

    Close

    We’re different from other job review sites.

    Breakroom Ratings are a fair and objective measure of how good an employer is.

    Instead of giving us a personal opinion of their workplace, everyone on Breakroom answers the same set of questions about their job.

    This means we can measure what jobs are really like at an employer, and you can trust the Breakroom Rating to find out where’s best to work.

    • Most people get proper breaks

      Good

    • No. People don’t get paid breaks

      Bad

    Best thing

    I think the pay is much better with what i get at home

    Nurse, June 2020

    Worst thing

    Pay and hours

    Clerical officer, May 2020

    See what 1533 people said
    about jobs at NHS

  3. 3

    McDonald’s

    Breakroom Rating based on 675 job reviews

    5.9/10
    What is this?

    What is the Breakroom Rating?

    Close

    We’re different from other job review sites.

    Breakroom Ratings are a fair and objective measure of how good an employer is.

    Instead of giving us a personal opinion of their workplace, everyone on Breakroom answers the same set of questions about their job.

    This means we can measure what jobs are really like at an employer, and you can trust the Breakroom Rating to find out where’s best to work.

    • Most people get enough choice over which shifts they work

      Good

    • No. People don’t get proper sick pay

      Bad

    Best thing

    Good training programs

    Shift manager, August 2020

    Worst thing

    Lack of co operation
    Lack of focus from other managers

    Shift manager, August 2020

    See what 675 people said
    about jobs at McDonald’s

  4. 4

    Sports Direct

    Breakroom Rating based on 53 job reviews

    5.8/10
    What is this?

    What is the Breakroom Rating?

    Close

    We’re different from other job review sites.

    Breakroom Ratings are a fair and objective measure of how good an employer is.

    Instead of giving us a personal opinion of their workplace, everyone on Breakroom answers the same set of questions about their job.

    This means we can measure what jobs are really like at an employer, and you can trust the Breakroom Rating to find out where’s best to work.

    • No. People don’t do unpaid extra work

      Excellent

    • Most people feel stressed here

      Not great

    Best thing

    Coworkers

    Cast, September 2020

    Worst thing

    Working under pressure

    Sales, October 2019

    See what 53 people said
    about jobs at Sports Direct

  5. 5

    Domino’s Pizza

    Breakroom Rating based on 54 job reviews

    5.7/10
    What is this?

    What is the Breakroom Rating?

    Close

    We’re different from other job review sites.

    Breakroom Ratings are a fair and objective measure of how good an employer is.

    Instead of giving us a personal opinion of their workplace, everyone on Breakroom answers the same set of questions about their job.

    This means we can measure what jobs are really like at an employer, and you can trust the Breakroom Rating to find out where’s best to work.

    • Most people recommend working with their team

      Good

    • Most people don’t get proper breaks

      Not great

    Best thing

    Flexibility of setting my own schedule and the people I work with

    Store manager, June 2020

    Worst thing

    Going to houses that you don’t want to go to

    Driver, July 2020

    See what 54 people said
    about jobs at Domino’s Pizza

  6. 6

    Subway

    Breakroom Rating based on 153 job reviews

    5.2/10
    What is this?

    What is the Breakroom Rating?

    Close

    We’re different from other job review sites.

    Breakroom Ratings are a fair and objective measure of how good an employer is.

    Instead of giving us a personal opinion of their workplace, everyone on Breakroom answers the same set of questions about their job.

    This means we can measure what jobs are really like at an employer, and you can trust the Breakroom Rating to find out where’s best to work.

    • Most people feel treated with respect by their managers

      Good

    • People don’t get 4 weeks notice of when they’re working

      Bad

    Best thing

    Meeting customers and the staff are great

    Team leader, March 2020

    Worst thing

    Lack of communication from management,
    Disrespectful management,
    Inability to take breaks,
    Low salary in comparison to the level of work required for the job role.

    Manager, June 2020

    See what 153 people said
    about jobs at Subway

  7. 7

    Burger King

    Breakroom Rating based on 93 job reviews

    4.8/10
    What is this?

    What is the Breakroom Rating?

    Close

    We’re different from other job review sites.

    Breakroom Ratings are a fair and objective measure of how good an employer is.

    Instead of giving us a personal opinion of their workplace, everyone on Breakroom answers the same set of questions about their job.

    This means we can measure what jobs are really like at an employer, and you can trust the Breakroom Rating to find out where’s best to work.

    • Most people feel treated with respect by their managers

      Good

    • Most managers change people’s shifts at short notice

      Not great

    Best thing

    My restaurant manager

    Shift manager, August 2020

    Worst thing

    The lazy staff and the bullies. I feel unsafe and threatened in my own work place and nothing is ever done about it

    Shift Manager, March 2020

    See what 93 people said
    about jobs at Burger King

Want to find out more about zero hour contract jobs? Read on.

Which companies use zero hour contracts?

14% of companies on Breakroom use zero hour contracts.

Zero hour contracts aren’t that widely used. So if you’re on the lookout for a zero hour contract job, it’s helpful to know where your options are.

Along with the companies listed above, here are some more companies that hire zero hour contract workers:

  • Frankie and Benny’s
  • TGI Fridays
  • Amazon
  • DHL
  • Greene King

These companies offer all sorts of zero hour contract jobs. Let’s find out a bit more about the types of jobs they offer.

What zero hour contract jobs are there?

When it comes to zero hour contract jobs, it’s important to note that there aren’t specific jobs or roles that are covered.

Rather, there are a range of jobs that happen to have zero hour contracts.

So whether you want to work in care or like the idea of customer service, there are quite a few options to choose from.

So first things first: what are the industries where you can get a zero hour contract job?

Industries that offer zero hour contracts

  • Care
  • Cleaning
  • Events and hospitality
  • Food and drink
  • Retail, customer service and sales
  • Warehouse and delivery

This is by no means an exhaustive list. There are other industries that offer zero hour contract jobs too.

So if you’d like to work in a particular industry on a zero hour contract, it’s always worth checking if that’s an option.

So you have an idea of the type of industry you’d like to work in, but what types of job can you expect to do?

Types of zero hour contract jobs

  • Admin assistant
  • Care assistant
  • Delivery driver
  • Lifeguard
  • Sales assistant
  • Waiter or waitress
  • Warehouse operative

Again, there are many other types of jobs that have a zero hour contract. This list is a taster of what sort of jobs you could expect to offer them.

A lot of zero hour contract jobs don’t require too many entry requirements. So these jobs are open to a lot of people.

Entry requirements will be specific to each job, but a lot of them just require the right to work in the UK.

So now you know what sort of jobs and industries have zero hour jobs, let’s get onto an important topic: pay.

How much do zero hour contract jobs pay?

As we’ve mentioned, there’s a lot of variation in the types of jobs and industries that have zero hour jobs.

So to make things a little clearer, we’ve separated the different job areas that Breakroom users on zero hour contracts work.

We then looked at the average pay rates they’re paid.

Here’s what we found:

Type of job 25% of workers earn this or less 50% of workers earn this or less 75% of workers earn this or less
Store £6.75 £8.06 £8.40
Front of house £6.85 £7.70 £8.55
Kitchen £6.85 £8.21 £8.62
Cleaning £7.00 £8.21 £8.75
Maintenance £7.70 £8.50 £9.86
Office £8.39 £8.80 £10.08
Warehouse £8.50 £9.50 £12.47
Driving £8.21 £9.69 £12.50

The best paying types of jobs with zero hour contracts are driving and warehouse jobs.

50% of workers with zero hour jobs in either warehouse or driving earn over the Real Living Wage.

This is a pay rate based on the real cost of living in the UK. For 2020, this is £9.30 and £10.75 for workers in London.

Cleaning, kitchen, front of house and store jobs with zero hour contracts earn on average less than the Real Living Wage.

75% of store workers on zero hour contracts earn 33% less than the same proportion of drivers on zero hour contracts.

The Breakroom verdict on the best zero hour contract jobs

As previously mentioned, we don’t think there’s anything inherently wrong with zero hour contract jobs.

What we’re concerned about is whether workers on zero hour contracts have good jobs.

When looking for companies that offer the best zero hour contract jobs, we were only examining what Breakroom users have shared about their zero hour contract jobs.

Even the companies at the top of this list can do a lot to improve their Breakroom Rating.

We’ve outlined what these companies can do to improve their zero hour contract jobs here, but in summary:

  • Only use zero hour contracts for workers that genuinely need them
  • Pay workers on zero hour contracts in line with the Real Living Wage

If you’d like a zero hour contract job, it’s really worth having a good look around.

As we’ve seen, some types of jobs pay far better than others that are relatively similar.

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