Labour candidates hit back over zero hour contracts

Labour leader Ed Miliband has said the party will legislate so that any worker employed on a zero hours arrangement, but who works regular hours for 12 weeks, must be given a formal contract.

Critics say the move will just lead to bosses getting rid of staff before they have to put them on the new deal. It comes as it was revealed that Wolverhampton City Council had 738 employees on zero hours contracts last year, but says it is phasing them out.

Dudley Council also had 192 staff on such arrangements last year.

Adrian Bailey, defending his seat in West Bromwich West, was named as one of 68 Labour MPs who had employed staff on a zero hours arrangement – something he disputes.

"It's an outrageous lie to suggest I use zero hours. In 2012 I employed someone on a temporary arrangement to cover for a member of my staff who had to take a leave of absence. I could not have a fixed term contract because I did not know when the member of staff would return.

"It was an open ended contract. The employee was paid the full rate and worked full time. We just did not know when the arrangement would finish."

Valerie Vaz, who is defending her seat in Walsall South, was also named.

She said: "The Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority – IPSA – regulates and administers contracts of employment for MPs. During this Parliament IPSA authorised the use of permanent, fixed-term and casual contracts.

"I have mostly employed staff on permanent or fixed-term contracts. The exception is where staff have left my employment to undertake for example further academic pursuits who have been happy to return on an ad hoc basis to do things like giving training to new staff or ad hoc research, if they were available. On these occasions I have used the casual contract as neither the permanent nor fixed-term options were suitable for these circumstances."