Prime Minister David Cameron, at the Conservative Party conference in Birmingham, outlined his manifesto for the forthcoming general election in May 2015; promising the people of Britain full employment and three million apprentices if the Tory’s are re-elected.

Addressing one of the biggest controversies in the labour market, Mr Cameron stated: “When companies employ staff on zero-hours contracts and then stop them from getting work elsewhere, that’s not a free market – it is a fixed market. In a Britain that everyone is proud to call home, people are employed, they are not used. Exclusive zero-hours contracts that left people unable to build decent lives… we will scrap them.” 

A ban on exclusive zero-hours contracts had previously been announced by Business Secretary Vince Cable in June, an announcement that was met with strong support from staffing industry players at the time.

A separate comment from Mr Cameron criticising staffing agencies that recruit exclusively from overseas, however, has been met with concern.

Kate Shoesmith, Head of Policy at the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC), commented: “It was disappointing to hear the Prime Minister call into question the valid role employment agencies play in finding skilled people to support businesses, whether from the UK or overseas. British agencies are already required by law to list all vacancies in Britain and in English, and advertising exclusively overseas is prohibited. We have not seen any evidence that this is happening and we will immediately investigate any evidence that is presented.”

“In the long term, the priority has to be ensuring our young people are given the skills they need to enter the jobs market. However, we also need a visa and immigration system that supports compliant businesses trying to recruit for the vacancies available in our jobs market right now,” she concluded.