Martin Whitfield MSP has become the latest employer to sign up to become a Zero Hours Justice accredited employer.

This comes against a background of statistics from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showing 94,000 Scottish workers are employed in insecure work, with sectors such as hospitality, social care and retail using them most frequently.

The campaign group Zero Hours Justice is encouraging public and private sector employers who offer their workers fair employment contracts to sign up to its free accreditation scheme.

Martin Whitfield MSP said:

“The Zero Hours Justice accreditation scheme is free to apply for and represents an excellent way to show commitment to the principles of fair work and social justice. I’m delighted to have gained accreditation and would encourage others to join the employers who have signed up so far.

“I’m pleased to see many of my colleagues across all parties have also signed up and hope others will join us to help give a lead on this important issue within the communities they represent.”

Chris Peace, Director of Zero Hours Justice, said: 

“We are delighted that Martin Whitfield has become the latest employer in Scotland to gain accreditation as a Zero Hours Justice employer. The ONS figures show that zero hours contracts are all too prevalent in the Scottish economy.  

“Zero hours contracts are exploitative and unnecessary. They leave workers uncertain of how many hours they might work, how much they will be paid and how they plan their lives. Zero hours contracts are also bad for business, impacting on workforce morale and employee recruitment and retention. 

“MSPs as employers who do not use zero hours contracts are leading by example. We want to encourage more Scottish businesses and organisations to do the same by registering on our website www.zerohoursjustice.org.”