14/11/2022

From 5 December 2022, The Exclusivity Terms for Zero Hours Workers (Unenforceability and Redress) Regulations 2022 will outlaw clauses prohibiting low paid workers (currently defined as those earning less than £123 per week) from working in another place/organisation.

The ethos behind these Regulations is to allow workers to boost their income by ensuring they can take on additional work where desired – particularly during this cost-of-living crisis period

This will only apply in England, Wales and Scotland where exclusivity clauses are already banned in Zero Hour Worker Contracts (ZHC).

It will not apply in Northern Ireland.

In Northern Ireland, there was an appetite to replicate the prohibition of exclusivity clauses in ZHC. But with the lack of a functioning Executive for 3 years, a pandemic, and again the lack of a functioning Executive, it has not been implemented.

We suspect that there would be general support for also extending the prohibition to low paid workers but that would depend on having a functioning Executive.