With the furore and drama currently plaguing the Government, there was some hope amongst employers that the Guaranteed Hours Offer (GHO) proposal for zero-hour workers (and some guaranteed hour contracts) would be kicked into the long grass. There may still be some kicking to be done; the grass has still to be mowed but for now the Government has published its promised consultation on the regime. This blog addresses the mechanics of the GHO. Part two looks at the reasonable notice and compensation for short notice provisions.  

A recap of the GHO regime

At its core, the proposed (GHO) is intended to tackle one‑sided flexibility in the labour market by requiring employers to offer more predictable working patterns to certain workers. Where individuals on zero‑hours or low guaranteed‑hours contracts are in practice working regular and consistent hours over a defined reference period, employers would be obliged to offer them a contract that reflects those hours. In effect, the regime seeks to align contractual arrangements with the reality of how work is actually performed, giving eligible workers greater security and predictability of income.

{This blog looks only at directly employed workers for the sake of brevity; however, it is worth remembering that agency workers will also be impacted by the GHO regime.} 

• Eligibility - which workers on guaranteed hour contracts will come into scope?
  • We know that the right to a GHO will apply to zero-hour workers - those with no guarantee of hours at all. Certain guaranteed hours workers will be in scope and so will be entitled to a guaranteed hours offer (GHO) - those who have some hours promised but still lack a ‘baseline of security and predictability’
  • The Government is consulting on the hours threshold: their preference is to set it within a range of 18-20 hours
  • Anyone with guaranteed hours over that threshold will not come into scope, as they will be deemed to have sufficiently guaranteed working patterns. The House of Lords pushed for a cap of 8 hours in the 2025 summer debates on the ERA, but this was not accepted and the general feeling from the Government was that it would be nearer to 16 hours. This was deemed too high by the peers who noted that it would bring 1 in 5 workers - ‘most of whom in stable part-time roles’ into the scope of the GHO regime.   
     
• Eligibility - what will regular work look like?
  • Workers will only be in scope and eligible for a GHO if they work regular hours during the reference period but remain on a zero-hour contract or a low guaranteed-hour contract.   
  • The Government is proposing either a weekly distribution of the hours worked during the reference period OR a weekly distribution AND total number of hours worked during the reference period.
    • Option A - a weekly distribution of the hours worked e.g. a worker who works in 8 or more weeks of the 12-week reference period (does not have to be consecutive weeks) would be in scope OR
    • Option B - weekly distribution of hours AND total number of hours more than workers' total number of contracted hours (if there are contracted hours). Weekly requirement of 8 weeks and total hours for each of those 8 weeks is 96 hours (in addition to any guaranteed hours).  
  • Option A would bring more workers into the scope of the GHO as essentially it would mean that workers working as little as one or two hours a week for 8 weeks would qualify. Option B seems to reflect the purpose of the GHO regime more effectively; giving zero-hour workers who are working a consistent and measurable number of hours a week a contract which reflects that.  
  • The Government is consulting on;
    • the minimum number of weeks - 6, 8, 10 or 12 weeks to be worked in the reference period
    •  the weekly hours distribution during those weeks - 48 hours or fewer, 72 or 96 hours and
    • how those would differ if the reference periods are extended.
  • There will be provisions which would allow certain periods of time during which the worker is absent (sick leave or annual leave) to be taken into account when assessing whether the worker is entitled to GHO. 
     
• Reference periods - how long?  
  • This regularity of hours for eligible workers will be measured over reference periods.  
    • The Government is consulting on the length of the initial reference period - their preferred period is 12 weeks
    • This is what we have been expecting, so no real surprise here.
    • The Government is consulting on subsequent reference period - 12, 26 or 52 weeks are options
    • The duty to offer a GHO is ongoing; it does not fall away even if a worker rejects a GHO after the initial reference period. The Government is proposing two ideas;
      • should there be a 26/52-week subsequent reference period after the initial period which will start immediately the initial period ends OR
      • should there be a gap of 26 weeks after the initial12 weeks and then after that gap a 26 week subsequent reference period?
    • Whilst the latter would certainly give some welcome respite to employers in monitoring eligible workers and their hours and making the relevant GHO does it add another layer of administrative complexity and confusion as to whether a worker is in a gap or a subsequent reference period? 
       
• Seasonal Work and Temporary Need
  • The Government is anxious to ensure that employers do not circumvent this new regime by offering short term contracts (to zero hours workers or low guaranteed hours workers) with a term less than the reference period nor only offer short-term contracts when making a GHO. Such short-term contracts will be permitted where they are reasonable. This definition will include contracts where the worker is performing a specific task and will be terminated on completion, where the worker is needed until a particular event occurs or where there is a temporary need (to be defined in regulations).
  • The Government is consulting on examples of temporary need which should be included in regulations.  
  • We would encourage clients, especially those in sectors such as health and social care, to consider how this may apply to your sectors where the demand for staff may fluctuate but may not be related to a specific event or task.  
     
• What will a Guaranteed Hour Offer Look Like?
  • The GHO should reflect the number of hours a qualifying worker worked during the reference period.  
  • The Government is consulting on whether that should be a mean average of hours or a median average of hours worked during the reference period
  • The accuracy of either calculation will depend on the nature of the hours worked. If the hours are sporadic over the reference period, then the mean average will be less accurate and vice versa.  
  • The Government is consulting on whether an employer will have the flexibility to determine how the hours in the GHO will be allocated - weekly or monthly?
  • This will not impact the number of hours guaranteed but rather will give flexibility to employers. For example, an employer may spread the number of hours guaranteed over a month to reflect the staffing needs of their organisation.   
     
• Should any workers be exempt?
  • The ERA 2025 permits the Government to make exclusions or exemptions from the GHO regime. Excluded workers could be those of a specific group or description. Exemptions to provide a GHO may apply in exceptional circumstances e.g. where a business is unable to function due to a flood or some other event.
  • The Government is consulting on whether certain workers should be excluded and what types of workers those should be and what specific circumstances would trigger an exemption.
  • We would imagine that the Government is anxious to keep these exclusions and exemptions very limited and so will want to draft this as tightly and narrowly as possible. That said, it is still a good opportunity for employers to made valuable sector-specific suggestions of exclusions, however, it’s unlikely that the weight of the administrative burden of offering GHO will be a good enough reason to exclude. 
     

Next steps

This is a key consultation for organisations which rely on zero-hour or low guaranteed-hours workers. Whilst there is much to be confirmed and it's disappointing how much we still don't know, it does provide some more detail and some understanding of where the Government is heading. 

The GHO regime, if it is finally introduced, is without a doubt going to be administratively burdensome and potentially wider in scope than first envisaged. The weight of that burden, however, could be lessened if sufficient responses push for aspects such as gaps between reference periods, and a stop to the widening scope managed by responding to issues of threshold hours for guaranteed hours contracts and working patterns during the reference periods.  

We would therefore encourage you to read the consultation and respond outlining your concerns and preferred options. It appears from the patchy contents of this consultation and the range of responses the Government is requesting that there is still not a clear plan as to how the GHO regime will work in practice. We would hope, therefore, that the consultation process is a live one and will provide more than a rubber stamping to an existing proposal.

Please contact us if you would like a more detailed report on the consultation or to discuss your response. The closing date for submissions is 25 August 2026.