How to end a zero-hours contract and stop offering shifts

The rota goes out on a Thursday. One name has not been on it for a while. Nobody decided to stop offering that person shifts; the work went to others, and the arrangement was never ended. Then a shift gets cancelled at short notice, someone asks whether they are owed anything, and the questions about zero-hours staff arrive together.

Most of them turn on two things: whether each person is an employee or a worker, and what you wrote down about offering, cancelling and ending work.

As checked on 4 November 2026, the rules for zero-hours contracts in section 27A of the Employment Rights Act 1996 are in force in England, Scotland and Wales. Section 27A, Employment Rights Act 1996. The Employment Rights Act 2025 adds a right to guaranteed hours, a right to reasonable notice of shifts and a right to payment for shifts cancelled, moved or curtailed at short notice. Those rights are enacted but not in force: sections 1 to 3 are commenced only for specified purposes, and the details are left to regulations. Section 1, Employment Rights Act 2025; Section 2; Section 3. The government's timeline, updated on 22 October 2026, says the timings for these measures "will be updated following the consultation process". Government implementation timeline. Holiday pay for these staff is covered in our guide to irregular-hours holiday pay and statutory payments, and this guide does not repeat the calculation.

Work out what kind of arrangement it is

In law a zero-hours contract is a contract of employment or other worker's contract under which the person agrees to work only if you make work available, and there is no certainty that any work will be made available. You make work available when you request or require the person to do it. Section 27A, Employment Rights Act 1996. GOV.UK puts it in employer terms: you do not have to give them work, and they do not have to do work when asked. GOV.UK on zero-hours contracts.

The label does not settle the person's rights. Acas states that someone on a zero-hours contract can be legally classed as an employee or a worker, and that their rights are based on that status, not on having a zero-hours contract. It also says the arrangement could be an ongoing contract or a series of short contracts each time the person works, and that it matters which. Acas on zero-hours contracts.

That difference decides what continuity looks like between shifts. For an employee, any week during the whole or part of which the relationship is governed by a contract of employment counts towards their period of employment, and so can a week of absence because of sickness, up to 26 weeks, or a temporary cessation of work. Section 212, Employment Rights Act 1996. Acas says that not being given work for a full calendar week, Sunday to the following Saturday, usually counts as a break, with exceptions such as sickness of up to 26 weeks, seasonal work that regularly stops, or an agreed career break. Acas on zero-hours contracts.

The law requires you to treat the person according to their actual status. A practical approach is to read each casual contract, note whether it describes one continuing arrangement or separate engagements, and record which status you believe applies and why. Where the answer is unclear for a particular person, check the current Acas guidance and seek appropriate advice before relying on it.

Share out shifts for reasons you could explain

There is no duty today to offer a zero-hours worker any minimum hours. The limits are on why you stop offering them.

Acas states that an employer must not cause someone detriment for asserting certain statutory rights, such as the right to the minimum wage, and lists "your employer reduces your hours without good reason" as an example of detriment. An employee dismissed for asserting a statutory right, such as rest breaks, could have an automatically unfair dismissal claim; a worker cannot claim unfair dismissal, but in some situations might be able to claim that ending the contract was a detriment. Acas on zero-hours contracts.

The Equality Act 2010 applies too. An employer must not discriminate against an employee by dismissing them or subjecting them to any other detriment, and "employment" for this purpose includes a contract personally to do work, so it reaches casual workers as well as employees. Section 39, Equality Act 2010; Section 83. Disability needs particular care. Treating a disabled person unfavourably because of something arising in consequence of their disability is discrimination unless you can show it is a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim, or that you did not know and could not reasonably have been expected to know of the disability. Section 15, Equality Act 2010. Dropping someone from the rota because they work more slowly or miss shifts for a reason linked to a condition can fall within that, and the duty to make reasonable adjustments may require a change to how shifts are allocated instead. Section 20, Equality Act 2010. Our guide to deciding what adjustment is reasonable sets out how to work through that.

Second jobs are not a reason either. A clause in a zero-hours contract that bans work elsewhere, or requires your consent to it, is unenforceable. Section 27A, Employment Rights Act 1996. The same applies to a contract that is not zero-hours where the person's net average weekly wages do not exceed the lower earnings limit, which is £129 a week for 2026 to 2027. SI 2022/1145, regulation 3; Rates and thresholds for employers 2026 to 2027. A worker under either kind of contract is protected from detriment for breaching such a clause, and an employee dismissed for it is unfairly dismissed with no qualifying period. SI 2015/2021, regulation 2; regulation 3; SI 2022/1145, regulation 7.

Acas recommends, as good practice, a fair and transparent process for sharing out work that takes individuals' personal circumstances into account. Acas on zero-hours contracts. A practical approach is a short written rule for whoever builds the rota, for example offering available shifts in turn to everyone who has said they are available, and a line in the rota log whenever someone is passed over, giving the reason.

Cancel shifts by what the contract says

As checked on 4 November 2026, the statutory right to a payment for a shift cancelled at short notice is not in force, so for most zero-hours staff what is owed depends on the contract. If it promises payment for a late cancellation, that promise binds you; if it says nothing, there is no statutory cancellation payment to fall back on. One older right can still apply to an employee: someone continuously employed for at least a month who is given no work on a whole day they would normally be required to work, because the business needs less work of that kind, may be owed a statutory guarantee payment. Section 28, Employment Rights Act 1996; Section 29. Acas recommends that employers have a clear policy on cancelling work, including the notice they will give and details of any compensation. Acas on zero-hours contracts.

The position is set to change, but there is no date. The Employment Rights Act 2025 inserts a duty to give reasonable notice of a shift, and of its cancellation or change, into sections 27BJ and 27BK of the 1996 Act, with notice presumed unreasonable if it is given less than a specified time before the shift. Section 2, Employment Rights Act 2025. Section 27BP would require a payment of a specified amount each time an employer cancels, moves or curtails a qualifying shift at short notice, with "short notice" itself to be set by regulations. Section 3, Employment Rights Act 2025. The right to guaranteed hours would require an offer of hours reflecting those worked in a reference period whose length regulations will set. Section 1, Employment Rights Act 2025.

The government consulted on those details from 2 June to 25 August 2026. As checked on 4 November 2026, the consultation page states that the measures "have not yet taken effect" and that the government will develop final policy positions after consultation; no response is published. GOV.UK consultation on reforms of zero hours and similar contracts. Treat any figures you see for notice periods or payments as proposals. Agency workers are dealt with in a separate schedule, which section 1 of the Act points to. Government consultation on agency workers. A business using agency casuals should check how the duties apply to it once the regulations are made. Our Employment Rights Act key dates page will show a date once one is set.

Close an arrangement nobody ended

Leaving a name on the books does not end anything. Nothing in the Employment Rights Act makes a casual arrangement lapse through inactivity, and Acas lists "let them know how the contract will be ended" among an employer's responsibilities. Acas on zero-hours contracts. Acas also notes that an employer could stop someone's hours instead of offering redundancy. For an employee, that does not remove the need for a fair reason and process if the contract is then ended; our guide to making one or two roles redundant covers that route.

What is owed on closing depends on status.

• Notice. Acas states that for a worker, by law, there is no requirement for either side to give notice, but a notice period the employer requires must be in the written statement. Acas on zero-hours contracts. An employee continuously employed for one month or more is owed at least one week's notice, then one week for each year of continuous employment from two years, and twelve weeks from twelve years. Section 86, Employment Rights Act 1996.
• Holiday. For an irregular hours or part-year worker, which covers most people on zero-hours contracts, you must pay in lieu of any leave they have accrued and not taken when employment ends, unless it was already paid as rolled-up holiday pay. Regulation 15E, Working Time Regulations 1998. For anyone else, the payment follows the share of the leave year that has passed. Regulation 14, Working Time Regulations 1998. Acas says any holiday built up and not taken must be paid unless the person was paid rolled-up holiday pay. Acas on zero-hours contracts.
• Wages and payslip. Pay any outstanding wages on an itemised payslip; workers on zero-hours contracts are entitled to payslips. Acas on payslips.
• Payroll. Put the leaving date on the payroll record when you last pay them, and give them a P45. GOV.UK on what to do when an employee leaves.

Timing matters from 1 January 2027. Acas's zero-hours page, last updated 28 March 2024, still says employees can claim unfair dismissal after 2 years' service. That is correct today and scheduled to change. Section 25 of the Employment Rights Act 2025 substitutes "six months" for "two years" as the qualifying period, and regulations made on 26 May 2026 bring it into force for dismissals where the effective date of termination is on or after 1 January 2027. Section 25, Employment Rights Act 2025; Commencement regulations, SI 2026/559. An employee whose service has been continuous between shifts may cross the new threshold sooner than you expect.

A practical approach is a letter or message to the person: say that no shifts have been offered since a stated date, ask whether they want to remain available, and give a date for a reply. If the arrangement is to end, confirm the end date, the notice and the final payment in writing. Seek appropriate advice before ending an arrangement where the person may be an employee with continuous service, or where the reason for stopping shifts could be linked to a complaint, a health condition or another protected reason.

Keep the shift record and give it an owner

The records that answer most questions here are the ones the rota already produces, if someone keeps them. A practical approach is to hold, for each person:

• shifts offered, with the date and time each offer was made
• shifts accepted, declined and cancelled, with who cancelled and how much notice was given
• a short reason whenever someone was not offered work for a period, or their hours fell
• the letter closing the arrangement, and the final payslip

Some of this has its own legal period. Records of hours worked and pay must be kept for six years for minimum wage purposes, according to Acas, and holiday records for six years from the date they were made. Acas on payslips; Regulation 16B, Working Time Regulations 1998. The rest, such as reasons for allocation decisions, has no fixed period. Since 1 October 2026 the time limit for most tribunal claims has been six months rather than three. Government implementation timeline; SI 2026/954. Separate regulations made the same change for detriment complaints about exclusivity terms. SI 2026/758. Our guide to the six-month tribunal time limit shows how to set a retention period from that without keeping everything for good.

Give the rota log one owner, usually whoever builds the rota, and put a quarterly check on the calendar: list everyone on the casual payroll, and for anyone not offered work in that quarter, decide whether to write to them. This does not remove the need to look at each person's status and circumstances before ending anything, and for a question about one person the Acas helpline is a good first call. It does mean the next dormant name is found in weeks, not after a year.

Common questions

Do I have to give notice to end a zero-hours contract?

It depends on status. Acas states that for a worker there is no legal requirement for either side to give notice, though a notice period the employer requires must be in the written statement. An employee continuously employed for a month or more is owed at least one week's statutory notice. Acas on zero-hours contracts; Section 86, Employment Rights Act 1996.

Do zero-hours workers get paid if a shift is cancelled?

As checked on 4 November 2026, the statutory right to payment for shifts cancelled at short notice is not in force, so for most zero-hours staff it depends on what the contract says. The Employment Rights Act 2025 contains a right to payment for shifts cancelled, moved or curtailed at short notice, but it is not in force and the government says the timing will be updated after its consultation. Section 3, Employment Rights Act 2025; Government implementation timeline.

Can an employer just stop giving a zero-hours worker shifts?

There is no duty to offer minimum hours, but the reason matters. Acas lists reducing someone's hours without good reason as an example of detriment where it follows the person asserting a statutory right, and stopping shifts for a reason linked to disability or another protected characteristic can be discrimination. Stopping shifts also does not by itself end the arrangement. Acas on zero-hours contracts; Section 15, Equality Act 2010.

Are guaranteed hours for zero-hours workers in force yet?

No. As checked on 4 November 2026, the right to guaranteed hours in the Employment Rights Act 2025 is enacted but commenced only for specified purposes. The government consulted on the details from 2 June to 25 August 2026 and has not published a response, and its timeline says timings will be updated after the consultation. Section 1, Employment Rights Act 2025; GOV.UK consultation; Government implementation timeline.