Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act

The Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015 (SBEEA 2015) was introduced in 2014 and some of the employment law provisions were brought into force on 26 May 2015. These are:

• A ban on exclusivity clauses in zero hours contracts. Also, the Secretary of State now has the power to introduce regulations with respect to zero hours contracts. It is likely that the Secretary of State will use these new powers to bring in new regulations to deal with employers who to try to avoid the ban on exclusivity clauses.
• Amendment of the maximum penalty for breach of the national minimum wage to £20,000 in respect of each underpaid worker. Previously, it was a maximum of £20,000 per notice, irrespective of the number of underpaid workers.
• Power for the Secretary of State to make regulations prohibiting an NHS employer from discriminating against an applicant on grounds that the applicant has made a whistleblowing protected disclosure

Exclusivity clauses are those clauses which prohibit zero hours workers from working for another employer, or prevent the worker from doing so without the employers consent. Since zero hours workers cannot rely on a set number of hours pay, the argument is that they should not be prevented from earning another income.

If you have any queries about zero hours contracts, or any other employment law/HR query, please call Linda Wilson on 01730 268211 or email at