During a HR and business leaders' forum held in Manchester, Matthew Taylor, lead reviewer of last year’s government-commissioned Taylor Review into modern employment practices, said zero-hours contracts can be positive.

"Zero-hours contracts can be a positive part of work-life balance if they offer genuine two-way flexibility," Taylor said.

During the forum, held by Peninsula, an employment law, HR and health and safety services firm, Taylor commented, where zero-hours contracts are misused it can undermine security and damage people's sense of fairness and respect. This is why I have suggested measures to encourage employers to think more carefully about whether they need to use zero and low hours contracts so much."

Ruling out a ban on zero-hours contracts, Taylor said, "I don't believe there's one best way of working. Flexibility is a good thing, and most people who work in non-standard ways choose to do so. However, as well as promoting flexibility, the system of rules and incentives must also be fair and realistic in terms of other goals such as a sustainable tax base."

Kate Palmer, Head of Advisory at Peninsula, commented "With uncertainty around the economy and profits harder to come by, businesses are looking to use zero-hours contracts to create greater flexibility in their workforce and lower their projected staff costs. By using zero-hours workers, employers only pay staff for the hours they need to meet demands."

"However, employers who use these types of contracts should consider making changes to their internal procedures, to ensure they are moving towards better working practices,” Palmer said. “To do this, employers should consider how much notice they provide to staff regarding shift changes, payment practices, and ensure workers are given the correct rights."

The Taylor Review did not call for an end to zero-hours contracts. The government’s response to the Taylor Review, ‘The Good Work Plan’, included a list of day-one rights including holiday and sick pay entitlements and a new right to a payslip for all workers, including casual and zero-hour workers.

Data from the Office of National Statistics showed that the number of zero-hours contracts increased to 1.8 million in 2017, up by 100,000 compared to 2016.